Something in the Water
by Lilac Owl
Summary: It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. Bulma Briefs sends Vegeta into space with herself to punish him, but something goes drastically wrong: their water tank is tainted with an arousing chemical. Can the two of them resist utter temptation?
1. Preface

A/N: Just a little preview to my next project. I want to see what kind of response I get...

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

**Something in the Water**

**Preface**

"I… am… so… thirsty…"

Silence.

"Throat so… parched."

Crickets.

"Lips so… chapped. Stomach so – "

"I'll rip your stomach _out_ if you finish that sentence."

Bulma cracked an eye open at his empty threat. Oh yes, it wanted as badly as she did… the water, of course. "Come _on_, Vegeta," she whined as she lolled her head back and forth across the wall she sat propped against, "Just a little bit? I promise I won't jump you or anything, okay? I'm going to freaking DIE if I don't drink something soon. It's all right there!"

"Shut up!" he roared, slamming his hands over his ears. Why the hell did he ever set foot on this God-forsaken ship?

Eyeing her shipmate curiously, Bulma made a rash decision and crawled over to his side where he sat against the vast glass window. "Look," she pleaded softly as her hair tumbled about her shoulders and onto his thighs while he stoically refused to look at her, "I know you've got to drink something really soon too. With all that training you did… you need it more than I do," she coaxed, reaching to one of his hands to pull it from his ear.

With a defeated growl, Vegeta dejectedly let his hands fall into his lap. He knew she was right. "Don't fool yourself, Bulma," he rasped, glaring into her eyes, "I could very well kill you."

Paling, she gulped and nodded. "I believe you can control yourself, Vegeta," she murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she leaned away from him.

Vegeta snorted as he stood and stretched. "No one has _that_ much control."

"Ohhh so you think I'm _gorgeous?_" Bulma purred with a teasing pout.

"I think you are a female and that is all it takes," he snapped with flashing eyes of warning. Taking the hint with every bit of restraint she had, Bulma leaned back against the glass in silence and crossed her arms across her bulging chest. "Stay here," he growled as he made to leave. Pausing at the door, he refused to turn and meet her eyes. "And try not to make any noise," he rasped before he left for the kitchen.

Moments later Bulma finally let out a pent-up breath. Turning her head, she stared out into the twinkling darkness of outer space as she let thoughts of the past few days swirl in her head. Her stomach flipped and squirmed with unwelcome anticipation, and her eyes glistened in awareness. How in the world had she gotten herself into this predicament? Ah, yes…

***

Bulma paced restlessly outside the GR. Oh yes… that man would come out, and when he did – She clenched her fists and ground her teeth. He made her life a royal hell, no pun intended. Ever since she had nursed him back to health after the explosion, Vegeta had been exceptionally antagonistic, abusive, and downright cruel – probably because he hated her for exposing his weaknesses. "Weakness my foot," she muttered darkly as she ran her hands down her short, breezy, red dress to obsessively smooth out the wrinkles. Since when was living and breathing a weakness? Her bare toes curled in the grass in anticipation as she looked out to the horizon. A moment later the power shut down and Bulma turned to the door with her long, aqua hair fluttering in the breeze behind her. As soon as the menacing Saiyan appeared in the doorway, torso glistening and towel tossed carelessly over his shoulder, she attacked.

"_You blew up my new chemical charger,_ YOU JERK!" Bulma screamed as she strode toward him and violently poked him in the chest with an accusing finger. "Do you even know how long I spent working on that? I WAS ALMOST FINISHED!"

Vegeta glanced down at her finger, carelessly brushed it away, and looked back to her flashing eyes with boredom. "Yes I know how long you've been working on it, fool. Why do you think I destroyed it?" he asked with a regal arched brow.

Bulma gaped at him. He had been planning this? What the hell… "What is WRONG with you?! Do you just _want_ me to hate my life??"

"Well if you were any sort of decent person you would rid yourself from this planet, but otherwise – you were spending to much time on that thing," he groused as he looked down on her in contempt.

"WHAT?!" she exploded.

"The next thing to go is that weakling you keep stored around here."

Suddenly it clicked. "Are you _insane_, Vegeta?"

"Of course not," he snorted, crossing his arms, "You have better things to be doing – like upgrading the GR and fixing my meals."

Bulma paused in astonishment. "Are you jealous? Are you freaking JEALOUS of my time, Vegeta?!" she screamed, punching him across the chest in frustration. "You CANNOT start destroying everything I'm working on or people I hang out with just because it's inconvenient for you that I'm not serving you hand and foot!"

"Ah, there's the rub. You _should_ be serving me hand and foot," he said amiably -- just to piss her off.

"NO! Absolutely not!" she yelled as she stomped a bare foot. "This is not how it's going to be. Here's the deal, Vegeta: You leave me and everyone else alone. You eat what you get. You _train in _what you get. You will not disrupt my life again or so help me I will make yours a _living Hell._ Is that clear?" she said menacingly, craning her neck to better meet his gaze.

Vegeta smirked darkly and mockingly patted her cheek with a calloused hand, causing her to wince and growl. "I don't think so. I will single-handedly ensure that you never waiver from your duties to me and this infernal machine; moreover, you have _no_ idea what hell is like, Woman."

Bulma sputtered incoherently for a moment. "Argh!" she yelled, thumping his chest with both her fists and earning a wicked laugh from him. "You – are – _ridiculous!_ I will not bend to your will and I _can_ make you suffer just as well as anyone else can!"

"Yes," he replied with a smirk as he turned away and headed back to the house, "Frieza is suddenly looking like a pansy compared to you."

"Well hey – you couldn't beat him, so I've got just as good of a chance!" she said loudly behind him.

Vegeta froze in his tracks, his shoulder blades twitching in barely-contained irritation, and Bulma slapped a hand over her mouth belatedly. "Just kidding…" she eeped out behind her hand.

Turning around with a snarl, Vegeta took a step towards her when they heard a voice call out "Bulma! The lab!"

"Daddy?" she said breathlessly, thankful for the sudden interruption as her little father tottered towards them with fretful eyes.

"Have you seen it?" he exclaimed, tugging at his hair anxiously. "Your projects in the chemical wing are – are –"

"Taken care of," Vegeta said smoothly with a devious smirk.

Barely suppressing a scream of irritation, Bulma ignored her houseguest and said with a grimace "Yes, Vegeta didn't like me spending time on anything other than _him_, so he chose to damage my _other_ projects."

"My dear boy!" the old man cried, throwing his hands in the air, "Do you realize the destruction you've wrought on the entire chemical storage system! We've got massive leaks springing up all over the place! It's like a toxic wasteland!"

In reply Vegeta simply grunted and turned back towards the house to left the elder Briefs stuttering in indignation. "Shh, Daddy," Bulma coohed as she took him by the shoulders and directed him towards the mechanical wing, "I'll take care of Vegeta later. You just need to relax and tinker on something. Just be thankful that we don't actually keep any real toxins in the lab."

"But the new medicines we've been working on – all spilled!"

Entering the senior lab with her father, Bulma pulled out his rolling chair and forced him to take a seat. "I command you not to worry about this anymore," she said in her best Vegeta-imitation-voice with a twinkle in her eye. "Relax. The team and I will take care of it, Daddy. Now tell me – how are the repairs on the space capsule?"

With a quizzical glance up at her, her replied, "Well – fine, I suppose. They were finished ages ago, although the supplies and technologies were never re-stocked. Other than that…"

"Fabulous!" she said happily as she tuned on her heel and headed out the door.

Dr. Briefs sat and scratched his head. What hair-brained scheme did she have now?

**A/N: Please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Ramifications Met

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

**Something in the Water**

**Chapter 1: Ramifications Met**

Sockets and metal O rings clanked to the ground as Bulma rummaged through the various boxes of gears and parts. "What the hell are these assistants _doing_ with their lives?" she mused in irritation at the jumble of mechanics around her. Giving up, Bulma sighed and left the parts storage, snapping at the nearest worker to find her the laser-sync before he lost his job. A dark storm cloud gathered above her head as she swept through the mechanics lab, which was bustling with every available assistant preparing the newly-improved space capsule, and Bulma's father frowned as she passed.

"Ah, honey?" he gently asked, stopping her in her tracks, "Are you quite sure you're alright?"

Bulma sighed and ran her hands through her flowing, blue tresses. "Yeah, Daddy. Just a little stressed... Help these days is worth crap," she muttered with a glare at a passing employee.

"I think you may be -- overreacting a bit," he replied begrudgingly, placing an arm around her waist as he guided her out of the building. "I know that Vegeta's really been... _on your mind_ lately, but he's just not used to things around here."

Bulma grit her teeth. "Any grown man can 'get used' to something if he wants to. Vegeta's just refusing to be anything other than an ass."

Dr. Briefs was silent for a moment as they came to a stop on the emerald lawn. "Well," he said finally, looking up into the sky, "I guess I have one question then. Do you remember little Hiroshi from your first class at school?"

Surprised, Bulma replied, "Sure. He was a pain in the neck -- and had a huge crush on me."

"Yes. A remarkable child like yourself. One of the greatest mathematicians of our day... too bad about the car accident..."

"You were saying?" she prodded, miffed.

"Ah. Well you used to come home every day mad as a dragon at that boy. He would pull your hair, push you down, call you names..."

"And put gum in my hair," she sighed. "Daddy, please tell me you are not about to compare him to Vegeta -- because Vegeta does _not_ have a crush on me."

Dr. Briefs looked at his daughter in surprise. "No... I hadn't thought of that... I was just wondering if you knew what became of his transcripts because I have this one friend who..."

"No idea, Dad," she snapped as she stalked off to the house without him.

"Well --" her father called after her, "You know that's a very good observation, honey! Just think if Vegeta --"

But Bulma slammed the door behind her before she could hear the rest.

"Mother!" she called, kicking off her boots at the door. "How are those suits coming along?"

"Just fine, dear!" came a faint reply from the other room. "Um, except you might want to check... ah..."

Frowning in consternation, Bulma wandered through the rooms until she found Bunny Briefs rifling through a box of stretchy material. "Hey, what's --"

"Um," Bunny said with a wide smile as she lifted what appeared to be a smoldering ruin out of the box, "Vegeta doesn't like the purple stripe I put in the side."

"But that was barely noticeable," Bulma replied, aghast as she reached out to stroke what was left of Vegeta's new training gear. "...And it modified the heat exchange pattern..."

"Yes, well he mentioned something about ruining the reputation of the entire Saiyan race... I wonder if they were supposed to hate fashion..."

Rage began to bubble and seethe beneath Bulma's skin. "Don't worry, Mom, I'll take care of that ungrateful --"

"Ah, ah, ah," Bunny chided sweetly, "He's our guest and a Prince to boot. Be kind, dear."

Bulma growled and threw the ruined suit back in the box. There was no way in hell he was going to get away with walking all over her parents. "Oh, I'll be kind -- don't you worry," she seethed as she turned on her heel to find the gravity room.

"VEGETA!" she yelled, banging on the door with all her might. "Get your sorry, Saiyan ass OUT HERE!"

"Go to fucking hell!" came the muffled reply through the door.

"I'm about to _send_ you to hell if you don't show your stupid face!" she screamed. Nearby assistants took one look at what was going down and fled the area till the yard was empty.

After five seconds of no reply and the GR still buzzing with power, Bulma growled and ran to the underside of the machine, typing in a code to unlock the emergency power control. "See how he likes _this_," she cackled as she increased the gravity from 250 to 300. Then she jumped up and ran back to the portal. "Well, Vegeta," she yelled amiably when a yowl emanated from within, "It's a nice, sunny day out here! Come out to PLAY!"

"BITCH!" Vegeta yelled back as he fell to the ground on his knees. Luckily, 300 Gs was at the edge of his limit, so all he had to do was crawl... ugh...on his face... _three feet_ to that blasted control panel.

"How's the training going?" he heard Bulma taunt from behind the door, but Vegeta ignored her and concentrated on pulling his amazingly heavy limbs behind him. If he could just reach the power down button, he would be able to ring that harpy's neck...

When no waspish reply came, Bulma began to worry, and thirty seconds later she wavered in her anger and rushed back over to the emergency control panel to cut off the power and open the door. Bounding back to the opening, Bulma found Vegeta slumped against the control panel and unconscious. "VEGETA!" she gasped, throwing herself into the room to his side. "Hey -- I was just kidding!" Worriedly, she pulled his face away from the panel to find two burning, black eyes staring her down. "GYAHHH!" she screeched in surprise.

Faster than she'd ever seen, Vegeta clamped onto her arms and slammed her into the ground on her back as he straddled her hips. "How shall I kill you?" he seethed, leaning in to her face as sweat dripped from his body onto hers.

Bulma squirmed beneath him. "Eww," she whined, "You're grosser than usual today, Vegeta!"

"Well I wouldn't be if SOMEONE hadn't turned the -- ARGH that's not the point!" he yelled, his fists tightening around her forearms. "I'm going to fucking kill you!"

"Kill _me_? I'm the one who should be killing _you!_" she yelled back. "You have been such a JERK to everyone here! You blew up my lab! You burned all the new suits --"

"Ah, yes, I wondered when you would stick your shrewish ass into this!" he snarled, his nose coming dangerously close to hers. "Those suits were made for me by your useless father, so it's none of your business what I do with them!"

Bulma screeched and tried to knee him in the groin, but her movements were in slow motion to the Saiyan, and he swiftly set his legs between hers and pushed up with his thighs to slam her own legs against the sides of her chest. "Ow!" she screamed as his arms pushed against the backs of her knees, effectively locking her legs to her chest both with his chiseled arms... and his groin. "Someone's going to think you're RAPING ME, Vegeta!" she hissed as she realized his masculinity was pressing into her intimately, causing fire to chase up her spine.

Vegeta chuckled darkly as his gaze bored deeply into hers. "Let's take care of that, then," he rasped as he slammed his hand down on the 'door close' button faster than her brain could process it, and then his arms were back in place, locking her to the ground and to him.

Suddenly, Bulma became scared -- something she hadn't felt since Namek. "Vegeta," she choked out, her eyes widening in fear, "What are you doing?"

"Heh," he muttered, his face moving from hers as his lips sought her ear, "What does it feel like I'm doing?" At that, Bulma felt him flex his manhood against her, and unwittingly her body responded warmly.

"Get the fuck off me!" she gasped, thinking of the very thin barrier of her shorts and underwear between his one-layer suit, and she began to struggle and writhe furiously beneath him.

"Hmm," Vegeta mused softly as he nuzzled his nose against her hair, unmoved by her attempts at freedom, "Feisty... Just the way I like it."

Bulma panicked. "NOOO!" she screamed, thrashing about as her eyes widened in terror. "Vegeta _stop_!"

"It's useless to fight against me," he murmured like a lover into her ear. "Puny, weak little human. I only hope this doesn't kill you," he added cruelly.

"PLEASE, Vegeta!" she begged, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks, "Don't do this!"

"Of course, I'll make it look like an accident," he mused as he grazed his teeth against her ear and fought to ignore his groin that wanted so badly to react to hers. "Your family will never know the difference."

Adrenalin coursed through her veins, and Bulma turned her head to sink her teeth into his neck beneath his jaw with a snarl.

Half a second later, Vegeta was standing on the other side of the room, clutching his hand to his neck, and Bulma sat bewilderedly on the floor. "I WAS FUCKING _MESSING_ WITH YOU!" he screamed in violent anger as his eyes bugged out while his fingers swept over the bite mark.

Bulma was to astounded to speak as she stared up at the furious Saiyan.

"DIDN'T YOUR MOTHER EVER TEACH YOU NOT TO _BITE_ SOMEONE??"

Relief and confusion clouded her brain. "But... you can barely feel that..." she croaked as she nervously tugged her shorts and shirt into place, her blue hair sprawling out about her shoulders.

Vegeta snarled in response as he bounded over to the control panel and stared into his reflection on a metal piece, turning his head this way and that to peer at his bite.

"I'm... sorry?" she ventured, mystified at his bizarre behavior and at her own apparent safety. _I guess he really was just kidding..._

"Argh!" he seethed, running his fingers along his neck obsessively and ignoring the woman sprawled out on the floor, "Fucking humans!"

Bulma looked around her, bemused. This was possibly the weirdest thing to ever happen to her. "Um," she began as she lifted herself off the ground, "I'm going to go now..."

"Do you see this??" he snarled suddenly and maniacally, leaping over to where she stood terrified and pointing at his neck, "You _almost_ left a mark!"

Bulma blinked and calmed her heart as she peered below his jaw. "I don't... _see_ anything..."

"Damn RIGHT you don't see anything, you fool!" he yelled. "And KEEP it that way!"

"What the hell is your problem?" she snapped back, getting in his face. "You're the one who was going to RAPE me!"

"You honestly thought I would degrade myself that way?" he retorted while he continued to rub his neck.

"Are you KIDDING me? What else was I supposed to think, Vegeta!" she screamed. "You had me trapped beneath you and you were rubbing your --" But then she stopped as a rosy blush tainted her cheeks.

"What?" he taunted, baring his teeth. "Hah. I wasn't even remotely excited, couldn't you tell?"

Actually, Bulma was stunned at his honesty, because he had seemed large enough... "What does it matter?" she countered, her cheeks getting pinker. "There was no way I could defend myself. How in the world could you think that was appropriate, you pig!"

Suddenly his hand was around her neck, tight enough to hold her still but not enough to cause her pain. "Don't think I wouldn't if you choose to defy me," he hissed, his eyes darkening. "Your death belongs to me... either now, or when I defeat that clown Kakarrot, and if I can _humiliate_ you along the way..." Bulma blanched as he smirked cruelly. "So much the better."

"You bastard," she snarled, clutching his hand.

Still smirking, Vegeta let her go and stepped back. "Get in my way again, woman, and I will crush you, and everyone else with you."

Bulma glared at him as her hair fell about her face. "You touch my family, Vegeta..."

"Yes," he taunted, crossing his arms, "How about that?"

It was then that Bulma made a quick analysis of the situation. "You're going into space," she stated, mimicking his stance. "Today."

Vegeta warily looked at the vixen before him. "No."

"Yes," she snapped, "You are. I have already begun to prepare your ship. It's bigger than this GR, so you can have the proper area to be a jerk."

Bulma could see the wheels turning in his head. "You're trying to kill me or some shit like that," he growled. "No."

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "That's ridiculous, Vegeta. I'm not trying to _kill_ you, I'm trying to just keep you away from here. You'll have everything you need --"

"Except for peace of mind that I won't blow up. Moreover, if anything on that piece of shit breaks, no one will be there to fix it for me. That's _your_ job, woman."

"You are GOING to outer-fucking-space whether you like it or not!" she yelled.

"Not without you or your father," he bated with a devious smirk.

Bulma blinked dumbly at him, her mouth agape. "Wha -- N -- No!" she said in horror.

"Then I'll see you at dinner -- when you feed me," he replied evenly as he made to leave the GR.

"Wait!" she gasped, running after him to the door. "You have to go, Vegeta!" she begged as she clung against the frame. Vegeta turned to meet her wild gaze with his own calculating one.

"You heard my ramifications," he stated, "And somehow, I can't see your father enjoying the ride. You've got your self-preservation to deal with, so..." Vegeta smirked. "No deal."

Bulma felt wretched as Vegeta turned and walked to the house. She wanted that man away from her family as much as possible, and there was no way to get him to leave at this point... They _needed_ him to train to his utmost abilities for androids.

"Alright!" she moaned, putting her head in her hand.

Vegeta stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to face her. "What did you say?"

Sighing and dejectedly walking down from the GR, Bulma whined, "I'll do it, Vegeta. I'll go with you to space."

He hadn't _actually_ wanted to go yet -- eventually, but not yet. On his own terms. "Are you crazy, woman?" he barked. "Hell no!"

"You already made the deal, Vegeta!" she snapped as she moved past him. "You set your _ramifications_ and I met them. Pack your teeny weeny bag, sir, because we're leaving."

"I'm not --"

"Oh _yes you are_," she seethed as she rounded on him. "You'll get top-notch training facilities up there, time to yourself, and a mechanic just for you. It's your fucking dream land, _Prince_."

Well... she did have a point. "Fine," he huffed, still eyeing her dubiously, "But be prepared to stay up there at least five months."

"Daddy's making all the preparations. I'll be sure to tell him," she snapped back. With that, the two stared each other down until Bulma whirled on her heel to seek her last hours of solace inside the house.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Anthony, you and Jiro monitor the A-Sim levels in the tank, would you?" Dr. Briefs asked as he tramped through the mess that was the Chemical Lab. Not that he didn't mind the poor boy staying with them, but he would really appreciate a break from Vegeta's tantrums. If only he and Bulma could just stop egging each other on...

"Looks like they're pretty outrageous, sir," Jiro replied as he read the measurements on the transcripts. "Definitely over-drafting the other chemicals. I suppose we'll have to fix that before testing is over."

Dr. Briefs sighed. "Yes, my boy, our customers wouldn't exactly be thrilled to find that their heart medication spontaneously deactivated..."

Anthony laughed from the corner where he sat recording the chemical levels of the water tanks. "But if all you care about is sex, his stuff will certainly get your libido going," he laughed.

Mustache twitching, Dr. Briefs silently congratulated his team for finding the right ingredients for the biggest craze on the market: Atosimaphil, a singular male / female aphrodisiac, both working to cure "old age" in men and pump up the sex drive in both males and females. Currently, they were working the chinks out of it, but pairing that with their newly-developed heart medication was about to bring in billions for CC. _Not that we need it_, he chuckled to himself.

"So, I hope you don't mind me asking, but... Are you sure about letting Miss Bulma take off into space with -- that man -- for over five months?" Anthony ventured as he cleaned up his area.

"I don't think I really have a choice," the older man sighed as Kitty jumped into his arms and crawled up to his shoulder, "Bulma is a strong-willed woman. She knows what she wants and what's best for her..."

Jiro cast a side-long glance at Anthony. "Are they... _together_... then?"

Scratching his head, Briefs replied, "Eh? What?" in surprise. "I was referring to the whole adventure part but..." he leaned in ominously as the other men backed away awkwardly, "Do you think that has something to do with it?"

"Uh," Jiro stammered as he looked to his friend for help, "I mean, I've only ever seen them fighting so..."

"But you've got to admit, sir," Anthony cut in with a glance at Jiro, "Two very attractive people trapped together for that long..."

Dr. Briefs leaned back on his heels as troubling thoughts began to cloud his mind. It had been nearly a year since she and Yamcha had broken up, and that was right after Vegeta returned... Not to mention she had never shown any interest in any men thus far... _I wonder..._

"Don't think about it too much," Jiro interrupted as he gathered his materials, "Because, I mean, that's purely conjecture... I was just wondering..."

"Yes, quite all right, my boy," Dr. Briefs offered with a comforting smile. "Now I've got to head out -- They should be leaving any moment now. You did refill the tanks, correct?"

"Yes sir, we sure did," Anthony confirmed.

"Alright then, I'm off for the afternoon boys --"

Just then, Bunny's voice cut through the room. "They're leaving, honey!" she squealed through the doorway.

Dr. Briefs tottered off to the lawn as he vaguely wondered what would become of his little girl and the grumpy prince...

"I took care of _everything_," Bunny gushed to Bulma and her father as Dr. Briefs arrived on the scene. "I tried to make it a little homier than the other ones, you know -- I put Bella on your bed, and you've got all those things that occupy you every day --"

"Mom," Bulma interrupted with a blush, thinking of Bella the stuffed sheep she had kept since her childhood, "I got it. Did you let Daddy to any of the preparations?" she asked with the hint of a wary frown.

"Well she let me take care of all the essentials," he replied, "I loaded you up with all the supplies and lab equipment you need to occupy your time. You're lucky," he added as he thumped on the hull of the ship, "Because your mother had insisted that Vegeta have a larger ship than the simple Gravitron section that the old one was outfitted with." Bulma herself hadn't been involved with the creation and planning of this one, but she assumed her father was more than capable of providing all the necessities.... Like a bathroom.

"You'll have plenty of room in there!" Bunny chirped as she clasped her hands together, "I mean, there's a whole extra living room area -- which I told your father was too bare and drab, but he wouldn't let me put my hands on it -- and just a tiny kitchen, but don't worry! You two will be happy as clams!"

Bulma frowned. "That's a... terrible phrase," she muttered as her eye caught sight of Vegeta striding out towards them on the lawn followed by a wild-eyed assistant who bore Vegeta's few belongings in his arms.

"About time, my boy!" Dr. Briefs called as Vegeta neared them with a surly glare, "You two need to take off immediately or you'll be forced to take the trip tomorrow!" (Bulma felt her stomach clench) "You can't take off after the sun sets."

And sure enough, the sun's rays were barely peeking over the distant forest. "Fine," Vegeta sneered as he strode up the ramp and into the ship without a backwards glance. The frazzled assistant, legs wobbling, scurried up after the Saiyan.

Turning to her parents with something between a grimace and a smile plastered on her face, Bulma reluctantly bade her parents farewell. "Um, I guess this is it for a while..."

"Oh have fun!" Bulma gushed as she threw her arms about her only daughter. "Take care of him, honey! He needs it!"

_He NEEDS a psychiatrist_, Bulma mentally groused.

"Erm," Dr. Briefs coughed, pulling Bulma out of her thoughts, "I just want to say..." and then he paused to study his daughter's pale, wide face. "Be careful."

Feeling some uncertainty creep down her spine, Bulma tried not to frown at her father and his apprehensive stance. "I will, Daddy."

"Now get up there!" he harumphed as the sun sank dangerously low, and Bulma kissed them both on the cheek before she turned and dove into the ship as the assistant stumbled out behind her.

Immediately Bulma saw that the living room lay a bit to the left of the entryway, and she saw what her mother meant about its barrenness: This side of the ship was basically all window, and the room was more like a large hallway than anything else, curved to fit around the Gravitron on the other side, but two lift-off seats sprouted from the wall looking out into space. Of course, one was filled... Bulma sighed as she climbed in next to Vegeta and strapped herself in. His eyes were shut, and he seemed to be either sleeping or ignoring her -- not that she cared. A control panel shot out between them -- a keyboard that connected to the holographic screen that appeared at the window -- and Bulma typed in the launch sequence. Ten seconds later, the ship began to lift off, and she could see her parents waving from the ground below as her stomach lurched in anticipation despite her mood and her traveling companion.

"Bye, Earth..." she muttered as land drifted away and clouds took its place.

"Fucking mudball," Vegeta added curtly, eyes still closed.

Bulma rolled her eyes and sighed. _Best five months EVER._

**A/N: So please review and tell me what you think! This one's going to be a bit racy... :)**


	3. Just a Sip

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

**Something in the Water**

**Chapter 2: Just a Sip...**

The ship's occupants were silent as it soared through the edges of the atmosphere and blasted into the dark abyss of space. For three days they sat in a chemically-induced sleep, the only peace that Bulma and Vegeta had ever had in the same room for the last year. Eventually the fog began to lift and the two began to blink and yawn. Cracking an eye open, Vegeta felt the power seep back into his muscles and he unbuckled himself swiftly, eager to try out his gravitron. He stirred the drowsy female, who watched in mild interest as he tacitly left the room, and she herself stood up with a sigh as the two chairs and control panel collapsed and sank into the shiny chrome wall, leaving no trace of their presence. Bulma glanced out the window to see the passing stars and planets looming in the distance. On one of these they would eventually land when the ship declared it habitable... Checking the holographic screen, she noted that they had successfully traveled past the speed of light for the past three days and were most definitely out of their own solar system. Now they would have to let the ship power up for the next three months via solar energy before they could blast back that way again. _No turning back now, Bulma._ Hopefully they would come across a sun like theirs soon, otherwise they'd be stranded out here a little longer than anticipated. On the bright side, they had enough food stored for the next year -- just in case.

A rumble erupted from the inner workings of the ship, and Bulma knew that the prince had found his home again in the GR. Venturing further into the ship, she found the entrance into the quarters. The ship was basically a large sphere with a smaller cylinder attached to the back, and Bulma saw that there was a tiny kitchen area next to a bedroom. With a frown she entered the bedroom and noticed that Bella, her stuffed sheep, sat cheerily on the bed. Bulma stuck her head out into the hallway again, knowing that it simply wrapped around to the other side where the living/control room lay. Where was his room? Again she entered the quarters and wandered to the other end of it, where a sparse, sleek bathroom sparkled -- the only moderately luxurious thing in the entire ship. A large tub sat in one end of it, while the other contained a glassed-in shower, and Bulma recognized the sign of a collapsible toilet between them.

"...Vegeta?" she wondered aloud as she walked back into the hallway towards the GR. Though no response reached her ears, she knew he heard her as she made the loop back through the control room to the other side of the GR. Tapping on the sliding door to the training room, Bulma flipped her hair over her shoulder and glanced down at her frilly top and bermuda shorts. Not exactly space wear... "Vegeta? Could you come out here for a moment?"

"I'm training!" he yelled back as he continued his pushups.

"Well you've got FIVE MONTHS to do that, so open the damn door, okay?"

Bulma heard a disgruntled yell as the power turned off, and a moment later she blinked into the face of the surly Saiyan. "_What_?" he hissed.

Ignoring him, she dipped under his arm and entered the gravitron with another frown. "Do you have some sort of bedroom in here?" she asked as she drew her hand along the wall, checking for collapsible furniture.

"This is my _training_ room, woman, not my sleeping quarters."

Stopping by the control panel, Bulma scanned it for any signs of unusual buttons. "But... where's your room then?"

Vegeta's back straightened infinitesimally. "In the back. Where is yours?"

"That... _is_ my room," she replied softly as she turned to meet his eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"That's the only bedroom _here_, Vegeta," she snapped, "Unless you've gotten something hidden up your tight little spandex sleeves..."

With a glare at his own, personal interloper, Vegeta strode out of the gravitron to examine the ship. Bulma sighed and leaned against the control panel as she waited for her prince to return. Moments later she heard an agitated scream echoing through the ship as Vegeta strode into the room and up to her brooding face. "What the hell do you mean by this?" he hissed.

"Hey," she retorted, "I'm not the one who built this thing! Maybe you should have checked it to make sure it's up to your outrageous standards before you got on it for the next five months!"

Growling in vexation, Vegeta shoved his hands through his ebony spikes. "It's your moronic father who should be to blame! You said you would ensure he made all the appropriate preparations!"

"Hey -- I had no idea that this thing had only one bedroom, Vegeta, let me guarantee you of that!"

"What -- you weren't trying to worm your way into my bed, you little harlot?" he snarled as he took a menacing step towards her.

With a shriek Bulma shoved her fragile hands against his unmoving chest. "That is SO LIKE YOU, Vegeta! For the last time, you are the single-most _vile_ being in the entire universe, and I would rather sleep with _Goku_ than with you!"

"Well you may just get your wish," he snapped, his eyes burning into hers, "Because there's no way in HELL you're sleeping in the same bed as I am!"

"Then let's just go ahead and turn this stupid ship around," she cried as she threw up her hands to gesture to her surroundings, "Let's just -- let's just fly back to earth. Don't worry that it will take at least eight months to get there without the light-barrier breakers charged -- oh no, that's no problem at all... except that it would TOTALLY DEFEAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUPID TRIP ANYWAY!"

"Fuck you _and_ this piece of shit!" Vegeta screamed back as electrical charges skittered across his skin.

"Oh, very helpful," she retorted dryly as she put her hands on her hips, "Just cuss me out. That'll do the trick."

"How about I just kill you and save myself the headache of dealing with you further?"

"How about you float in space for eternity when I'm dead?"

"How about I rip out your tongue and leave your hands to do the work?"

"How about I reinstall the gravitron to smash you flat next time?"

Bulma and Vegeta stood seething as they stared at one another, grinding their teeth. Slowly, the fire that was eating at her sanity slowly cooled, and Bulma sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright, let's just figure this out."

Vegeta watched her warily as she left the room and wandered to the bedroom, and he couldn't help but follow. "Can you build yourself a bed?" he grouched as he leaned against the door frame while she circled the room.

Shaking her head dejectedly, she replied, "I don't have the materials. I mean, I don't even think there's another blanket around here." Vegeta grunted and reached over to pluck up the little stuffed sheep. "Put that back," she snapped as she wandered into the bathroom. Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her before he dropped it back on the bed.

"Nothing in here but towels," she muttered to herself. Slowly she walked back into the room to stare at its other moody occupant. "Well, I mean, it _is_ a double bed," she remarked conversationally.

Vegeta's nostrils flared. "You'd better not be headed where I think you are," he groused.

"Aw come on," she sighed as she plopped onto the bed and grabbed her Bella, "We can make it work. All we have to do is... you know, change our sleeping patterns a bit."

"You will sleep on the floor, Bulma," he growled.

"No, I won't."

"No way in hell are you sleeping in my quarters."

"Well, you're really going to miss that gravity machine then."

Vegeta snarled and lunged toward her, but Bulma shoved up her stuffed sheep between them "Ah ah ah," she teased as she glared up at him from behind Bella, "Don't even think about it. I'll have Goku all over your ass faster than you can say Sensu."

"You think that will stop me from crushing your little skull?" he sneered.

"No, but it _will_ stop you from ascending," she replied with a saccharine smile. "And let me tell you what, Prince, the more you have me on your side, the faster you'll get that platinum blonde up-do you've been dreaming of."

Vegeta snarled as he shoved aside the stuffed animal and leaned in towards her face. "Do you dare mock the Saiyan heritage?" he drawled dangerously.

"On the contrary. I take it quite seriously. I also take my sleep quite seriously." Bulma smiled up into his reddening face. "Don't worry -- I can just sleep when you train and so on. It'll take a while before I can get down a new routine, but don't worry, we can make this work, Vegeta, I'm sure of it."

"I don't want any _fleas_ in my bed, woman!" he sneered.

Bulma crossed her arms with a grimace. "This coming from an overgrown monkey? I don't think so."

"_What did you call me?"_

"Come on," she said, ignoring his threat as she leaped up off the bed, "You go train and forget all about this. I'm going to go check in with Dad -- and chew him out."

"This isn't likely to escape my thoughts," he grumbled moodily as he followed the blue-haired beauty into the hallway.

"Yeah I know, you just can't wait to sleep with the ravishing Bulma Briefs," she laughed, her voice tinkling off the chrome walls.

"Bitch," he spat, hauling her back on her heels by her blouse, "Don't think I don't know what's going on in that little head of yours. You will _not_ enter my quarters while I am in them and you will _not_ try to seduce me."

"Paranoid much?" she drawled as she batted her eyes at him with a smile.

"You will not succeed," he seethed as his eyes bored into hers.

"Got it. No monkey sex. Have fun training!" she said brightly as she spun on her heel and flounced into the control room.

Smacking his hand over his face, Vegeta growled at her heinous lack of respect for him. At least he had five months to show her where she belonged... under his heel.

Meanwhile, Bulma tapped into the main control system and accessed her communication technology. A busy signal popped up on the screen, telling her that it would take approximately six hours before the signal would reach the outer satellites, and Bulma decided to take a gander at the kitchen in the meanwhile. Padding through the hallway with a glance through the long window to the GR, Bulma frowned at the situation she found herself in as she entered the kitchen.

The kitchen was diminutive, with barely enough room for two people to stand chest-to-chest between the counter and the sink. Two sets of cabinets hung above the counter with a window between them, and Bulma found that the cabinets housed baskets of capsules, perfectly organized. Bulma smiled. Her mother had been here. The refrigerator sat next to the sink, and Bulma opened it, pleased to find that her mother had left them some freshly-baked goods and other perishables. Glancing to her right, Bulma noted that a tiny two-person table was cramped in the corner and held a glistening glass bowl of fruit. Although she couldn't tell what time it was, she reasoned that her three-day sleep -- though programmed to use practically none of the body's stored energy -- gave her cause for a little snack, and Bulma grabbed a particularly large peach to munch on. Vegeta usually trained for five hours in the morning, took an hour long break for lunch, and then trained about seven hours until dinner, after which he returned for about four more hours of training before bed. The Saiyan was attached to his schedule. Bulma chewed on her fruit and her thoughts until only the core remained. Throwing the pit away, she tramped back to "her" bedroom to go through her belongings, and she spent the next six hours unpacking, settling in, and working on a particular piece of machinery that had yet to be perfected. Finally, she heard a ringing noise emanating from the control room, and she made her way over to see what was going on, grabbing a glass of water on the way. Good timing too, because she heard the GR turn off as she passed by, and she was more than willing to let Vegeta have his shower without her nearby.

When she arrived, a message was blinking on the holographic screen: _Three messages waiting for download._ With a slight frown she plucked in the code and watched as her father popped up on the screen. Mustache twitching in agitation, he ran his hand through his hair, saying, "Bulma! My dear! I've got a bit of -- erm -- bad news, so if you would please go ahead and call me as _soon_ as you get out of your sleep -- that would be -- ahem -- prudent..." Abruptly the message ended, and Bulma hurriedly moved to the next: "Bulma! Please hurry and call me! No dilly-dallying!" and finally she clicked to the last: "BULMA_ what the HELL are you doing??_" he asked as his face suddenly turned pale. "Wait -- don't tell me -- I don't want to know -- Just call and whatever you do --"

But his message was cut off as a call rang through the system. Bulma quickly answered, "Daddy? Is everything okay over there?"

"Bulma!" Dr. Briefs sighed in relief, mopping his brow with a handkerchief, "Where have you been?"

"Asleep. And a little hungry. What's going on?"

At her reply, the older man blinked in surprise and zeroed in on the glass in her hand. "Is that... are you drinking water?" he gasped, smacking his forehead in frustration.

"Uh, yeah, dehydration being a problem and all..." she replied in confusion, setting it down on the floor.

"_How much have you had_?"

"Like half a glass -- what's going on, Daddy?"

Dr. Briefs sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. "Your water -- it's been tainted."

"WHAT?"

"From when Vegeta destroyed your chemical charger and all the rest of that chem lab."

"_Son of a --_"

"We refilled your tanks without realizing that one of the chemicals had leaked into the main water system here -- some of the pipes had been damaged in the explosion..."

"How dead am I?" Bulma moaned, already beginning to feel fear creep up her spine.

Her father twitched, fidgeting with his collar a bit. "Well, not dead, exactly... almost the opposite..."

Bulma froze. "Daddy... Which chemical?"

The doctor's face began to turn beet red. "Well honey, just stay calm --"

"_Which. Chemical. Now,"_ she growled.

"Asmf..." he mumbled, turning beet red.

"_I can't hear you,"_ she replied with a glare.

Her father coughed and sighed. "Atosimaphil," he said. "A-Sim. The levels are off the chart."

Bulma thought her heart was about to explode as her stomach dropped out. "You're joking," she choked as she stared down at her glass of water in horror.

"No," he replied sadly, "It's true. Not a single capsule contains uncontaminated water either."

"A-Sim," she whispered, stunned, and suddenly she jerked her head in the direction of the GR. "Vegeta!" she gasped.

"Yes," her father interrupted, his face turning red again, "You two are in quite a pickle. You yourself should start feeling the -- erm -- effects soon enough if you've had a few sips recently. I'm not exactly sure how you are going to avoid --"

Abruptly his words cut off as the screen was filled with something bright yellow. "BULMA DEAR!" Bunny shrieked excitedly as she grabbed on to the computer console. "Just imagine -- all those grandbabies!"

"_Dad_," Bulma snarled in irritation, and her father popped back on screen as he pulled his wife out of the way.

"I don't suppose you took any specific _supplies_ with you up there?" he asked nervously.

"I should -- I should be okay if anything..." she trailed off, glancing nervously down the hall. "I have to go before Vegeta --"

"Yes -- hurry!" Dr. Briefs urged. "I'll talk to you soon!"

Bulma heard her mother's peal of delight cut off as she jogged down the hall. "Vegeta!" she called out as she looked into the bedroom and saw steam billowing behind the glass bathroom door, and a strange warmness began to creep up her spine. "Don't -- Don't drink the water!" she yelled as she banged on the door.

Vegeta could feel the woman's anxiety, and her yell managed to worry him the slightest bit. Cutting off the water, he stepped out and wrapped a towel around his hips, thankful that he had at least managed to shampoo and soap up before she interrupted his relaxing shower. "Quit your yowling," he grumbled as he yanked the door open.

Eyes bugging out of her head, Bulma gawked at the man looking down on her as water droplets slid down his bronze muscles and the steam behind him emphasizing his darkness. "I... uh..." she whispered as the warmth spread to her stomach, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from his gleaming neck and chest. "The wa... don't um..."

Vegeta was suddenly wary as he saw her eyes roving his chest -- something she had never done -- and although he couldn't blame her, he felt severely uncomfortable. Taking a step back with narrowed eyes, he said, "Spit it out, woman. You're bothering me."

But Bulma couldn't help herself. Tentatively, she lifted one slender hand and reached out to touch his chest, and Vegeta's eyes widened in surprise as her ivory digits barely brushed one of his pecs. "You're... beautiful," she whispered, her eyes widening in adoration.

Gasping, Vegeta snatched her hand and squeezed it menacingly. "What the fuck are you doing?" he hissed in alarm, and his sudden movements stunned Bulma enough that she tore herself away from him and threw herself on the bed, leaving Vegeta standing dumbfounded in the doorway.

"It's the water!" she gasped, clutching her stuffed sheep to her chest as she squeezed her eyes shut. "It's toxic!"

Vegeta stepped forward in alarm. "What?" he cried.

"It's an -- it's an aphrodisiac," she gasped, trying desperately to not think about the suddenly-appetizing man behind her. "It makes you want to -- it makes you want to have sex, Vegeta..."

And he could see the hunger in her eyes when she peeked at him over her shoulder.

**A/N: Alrighty I hope y'all liked this installment! I love encouragement, so please review!**


	4. Many Ruminations

A/N: So I have to say thank you for all the reviews! You guys make me want to write!

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

**Something in the Water**

**Many Ruminations**

Standing in the doorway, mouth agape and eyes wide, Vegeta gazed on the woman who looked longingly over her shoulder at him. "Did you --" he rasped as he felt the sudden need to readjust his towel on his hips, "Did you... partake of it?"

"Half a glass," she breathed as desire licked its way through her body, "And I can barely..." Bulma clutched her stuffed sheep, Bella, to her chest as her eyes widened. "I can barely keep myself from jumping on you."

"Normal from any other person..." he muttered, casting his eyes about the room for his clothes. He guessed his personal belonging were in the chest of drawers next to the bed. "Is it escalating in intensity?" he queried as he cautiously moved towards the chest, keeping his eyes on hers.

Tongue flicking out to wet her lips, Bulma whispered, "Yes." Her sight began to blur at the edges -- not from loss of consciousness, but from intensified concentration on the nearly-exposed man.

Opening a random drawer, Vegeta found a pair of sweat pants and quickly withdrew them. He could feel her desire. It was tangible. Sliding his eyes towards her again as he made to return to the bathroom, he noted her flushed cheeks, her labored breathing, and her smoldering eyes. It had been too long since a woman had looked at him that way, and Bulma was... sumptuous. Tempting. Even in his lucid, rational state, Vegeta could feel the threads of lust unwinding in his chest, and at that moment he knew: This was the trip from hell.

Bulma could barely feel her conscious mind. "I want you," she whispered as the Saiyan distrustfully backed out to the bathroom. "Don't -- Don't leave!" she cried in a sudden panic as she threw herself to the edge of the bed, reaching out a hand to him as her hair tumbled wildly about her shoulders and her eyes widened in desperation.

But Vegeta made it to the bathroom and mentally thanked Dr. Briefs for actually putting a lock on the door -- and suddenly she was there at the door pounding on it with the palm of her hand and mewling his name. Vegeta threw off the towel and yanked on his pants, glancing in the mirror at his agitated reflection. "Fucking coward," he muttered to himself, "The Prince of All Saiyans running from a weakling female..." Disgusted with himself, he went to the door, unlocked it, and slid it open so quickly that a smack landed on his exposed chest.

"_Vegeta!_" she gasped with a dazzling smile lighting across her flushed face, and she tried to fling her arms about his shoulders, but the Saiyan swiftly caught her tiny wrists in his hands.

"Absolutely not," he snapped, and he was about to shove her into the bathroom when he realized that she would only have access to more water there. Rolling his eyes in agitation, he began to drag her across the room and into the hallway.

"Hey! What are you -- Vegeta!" she cried, stumbling over her own feet as he pulled her by her wrists.

"Shut up," he growled as he pulled her towards the GR while she struggled against him. "I should have killed you when I had the chance..."

"Don't kill me -- _make love to me_!" she wailed as he roughly tossed her into the gravitron. Wordlessly he moved to the control panel and turned the gravity on as she scrambled to her feet. "Kami, Vegeta! Don't just --" But suddenly she slammed down to the floor on her face as a measly five Gs pinned her down.

"That should do it," he commented to himself as he noted her inability to move her face.

"V -- G -- Ta," she moaned, only able to move her eyes to follow his walk towards her.

With a grimace, he used his bare foot to roll her over to her back, though the side of her face stayed glued to the floor. "I certainly hope this won't take to long to dissipate," he said to her wide eyes, "Because I'd like the use of my gravity machine soon."

Bulma moaned again both from the pain of being weighed down and from the fire burning in her loins.

Vegeta studied her indignant face a moment more. "And moreover," he added with a snap of his teeth, "Saiyans do not _make love_." With that, the prince turned on his heel and left, slamming the door shut on his way out.

Two hours later, Vegeta strolled by the GR and could feel a completely different sense emanating from the flattened female -- something quite similar to utter rage. With a smirk he opened the door and gazed down at Bulma's stricken and shrewd face. "Seems like you've had enough," he commented as he noted with slight admiration that she had managed to inch her way over to the control panel.

As Vegeta turned off the machine and the gravity lifted, Bulma wheezed out a breath and gasped. "You... ass... hole..." she panted, her body screaming at her tiniest movements.

"Perhaps you should take to training as well when I am asleep," he offered with a scowl, "Then you may be more useful when we land for more supplies. More useful... and less fat."

"Shut your... mouth," she hissed as she shakily got on her hands and knees. Every limb was trembling, and as her embarrassing actions towards Vegeta swam in her head, all she wanted to do was crawl up in a corner and die. Luckily her long hair tumbled before her face and hid her scarlet blush from his calculating stare.

"What -- no ripping off your garments?" he sneered as he perched against the panel. "I was _sure_ that you'd continue your overtures as soon as you saw me again. _You_ don't need chemicals to make you want me."

Vegeta could see her sapphire eyes glaring up at him through her curling tresses. "YOU drink a glass of that stuff and see if you wouldn't fuck the nearest living thing," she spat as she painstakingly rose to her feet. "Don't flatter yourself, Vegeta. It's all worn off now and I can go back to loathing you in peace." Nonetheless, her blush remained as she stared him down even as her knees began to buckle with weakness.

Vegeta laughed cruelly. "A bitch in heat. Well, leave now so I may continue my training."

Bulma decided to ignore his jab, but replied, "Oh no you don't. No training until we find a place to refill our water supply, Vegeta."

"Fuck your water," he growled. "I am a Saiyan -- no weak human. Your petty chemicals will not --"

"Right," she retorted, "Because our morphine and sleeping pills don't work on you either. The more you train, the more dehydrated you will be, and we both know how much it takes to sustain a Saiyan body." Bulma sighed and turned away to lean against the door so that she could see out into space through the wrapping window of the hull. "The only hope we have is to wait until we find an inhabitable planet to refill on. Let's see..." A line appeared between her brows as she weakly laid her head against the crook of her arm. "Humans can go about three days max without water, and even then our bodies begin to shut down beforehand, so I give myself about a day and a half before I cave -- if that. Saiyans, on the other hand..." Bulma turned to scrutinize the severely-irritated prince behind her. "On any given training day you consume almost thirty times what the average human male consumes, but at rest... I'd say only ten or fifteen times that; however, your extreme pride has to be taken into account, so I think that in about one full day you'll be headed for the sink."

Scowling at her smug-but-exhausted visage, Vegeta snapped, "How about you just leave and I shall drink all the water that I want?"

"Not advisable," she replied as she feebly wandered out towards the hall, plucking at her shirt and thinking about changing. "You'll be jacking off so much your skin will fall off."

"HOW DARE --"

"Actually, I'm kind of serious," she interrupted while stifling a yawn. "That stuff is extremely potent, and your body will be forced to try to relieve your pain over and over again."

Vegeta stilled for a moment. "Pain?" he asked warily as he followed her into the hall.

"Yeah," she said flatly with a resentful grimace, "Pain. I would know."

"I thought you said it only made you..." Vegeta started, blushing.

Bulma frowned, crossing her arms as her blue eyes bored into his ebony ones. "Haven't you ever heard about pleasure and pain? The two go together."

The Saiyan flashed her a wicked smirk. "Yes, well I do take pleasure in the torture of my enemies."

"Not like that... _freak_..." she sighed with a roll of her eyes, "I mean in sex. Humans tend to receive pain as pleasure when they're aroused."

Vegeta felt suddenly uncomfortable as he thought about Bulma relative to himself during sex. "I'm a Saiyan," he blurted out.

"Yeah. Tail and spiky hair. Got it," she snapped. "Seems to me that humans and Saiyans are pretty much the same notwithstanding the ki level, strength, and senses issues."

Vegeta reared his head back as he took a menacing step towards her. "How _dare_ you call yourself an equal to the Saiyan race?" he hissed, his eyes glinting in the starlight. "You have no idea --"

"I just _said_ we weren't the same!" she retorted as shoved her hands on her hips (and winced as her sore muscles protested the sudden movement.) "In fact, I'd say that your heightened senses are going to screw you over in this situation!"

To this Vegeta had no reply, and his jaw closed with a snap as he remembered the temptation Bulma presented when he himself had perfect control over his body. He had felt the unnatural heat burning from her skin, seen the smolder behind her eyes, smelt her arousal in the air... Vegeta's nostrils flared in annoyance as he realized that simply thinking about it stirred his loins.

Bulma watched her shipmate through narrowed eyes as she saw thought flickering about his face. _Maybe he's finally getting the point... _"So you see, Vegeta, we've got a serious problem on our hands, and only about a day before we have no control over it."

Imperceptibly trailing his eyes across her figure, Vegeta wondered if this was indeed a problem. "To sum it up... If I don't drink the water I will die, and if I do then I'll fuck you senseless," he stated tactlessly.

Bulma blanched at his blase attitude towards her state. "Well, yeah, and if you have absolutely no control over yourself then you'll... probably kill me in the process." Bulma's cyan eyes flickered down to his hips as she considered the thought, and then she drew her gaze to the exposed bronze skin at his neck, where his tendons jutted out and screamed masculinity. _Probably the best lay I'd ever have. Before I die,_ she thought flatly.

"Who says I'm concerned about your welfare?" he sneered as he strode to her and sinisterly began to circle her. "I don't really see the issue here."

"Hah! I _knew_ you always wanted to sleep with me," she challenged with a smirk as she trained her flashing eyes on his. "Is Prince Vegeta getting lonely all by himself?" she mockingly pouted.

With a snarl his arms shot out to grasp her upper arms. "I want nothing to do with you, you repulsive little whore," he ground out as his onyx eyes burned with ire, "I should kill you for merely --"

"How stupid do you think I am?" she sneered, leaning in towards his face. "I've programmed this ship to respond only to my passwords, and Daddy has the remote emergency contact controls over it. If something happens to his precious little girl he has every ability to destroy it all the way from earth." Bulma's teeth flashed as she bared them to his own unsheathed teeth. "So when you tell me that you have no regard for my well-being..." Bulma smirked. "...It tells me you have no regard for yours either."

Overcome by surging hate, Vegeta screamed and slammed her roughly into the chrome wall behind her. "DO NOT TOY WITH ME!" he roared as his fingers painfully dug into her arms.

"Vegeta -- that HURTS!" she cried, shutting her eyes as pain shot through her already-sore appendages.

In mild surprise the Saiyan let go and stepped back. He hadn't thought that he'd been holding her that roughly, but sure enough he could see red marks marring her flesh where his hands had been. Oddly, his anger had vanished the moment she voiced her pain and had been replaced with a strange feeling of frustration.

"Kami, Vegeta," she groused as she rubbed her arms, "Get some self-control, will you?"

He made no reply as her words struck a chord in him. How in the world was he supposed to keep control of himself when he was forced to drink the water? Suddenly very uncomfortable, all he could manage to say was "Fuck off" before he shot a brooding glare at his surroundings and began to roam towards the bedroom while he pondered for once over the Saiyan temperament.

Though she wanted to further berate Vegeta about his callous treatment of her, Bulma had seen a glimpse if his pensive face before he turned to leave, and she reluctantly decided against it. _Let him realize the pickle we're in,_ she thought wearily as she leaned against the window, _He needs to understand that this is putting our lives in danger... specifically mine._ Bulma frowned down at the marks on her arms that were beginning to bruise, though not too badly she hoped. Even during his more composed tantrums he still had trouble keeping his strength in line. What in the world was going to happen when he turned into a sex-starved nymphomaniac and she was the only thing around to sate his hunger? Bulma stifled another yawn and her thoughts began to wander towards sleep. "How does he do it?" she wondered aloud as the two hours of increased gravity took their toll on her body. With a sigh she lazily turned and headed back towards her -- _their_ -- room.

Sitting on the side of the bed that faced the window of the bathroom, elbows propped against his knees and hands dangling carelessly between his legs, Vegeta scowled while he considered the consequences of his inevitable consumption of water. One thing was for sure: His life was about to get a lot more complicated. Regardless of their volatile, hostile attitude towards one another, Bulma and Vegeta knew there was an unspoken-of tension between them at this point that had nothing to do with anger... And what was more, Vegeta knew that with his Saiyan disposition the chemical was more likely to affect him. Once he had observed the humans for a longer period of time, he had noticed that their sexual drive was much less developed and instantaneous. Bulma was right to assume that his heightened senses amplified any feelings that he already had: Whereas she might not be able to smell the pheromones he exuded, Vegeta could literally taste hers on his lips when she entered the room. Saiyans didn't make much ado over choices either, considering that once arousal was established it took literally the removal of the other participant to stop a Saiyan from copulating. Vegeta stiffened as he felt the blue-haired woman near the room, and sure enough she entered moments later with a belabored sigh.

"I'm wiped," she groaned as she threw herself down on the bed beside him, and the Saiyan turned his head to glare at her impudence. "I just don't understand how you can train all day in that gravity, Vegeta," she continued as she flashed him a weary smile. "I guess you're more of a freak than I thought you were. You're kind of amazing."

He wanted to reply with something bombastic, but all he could do was flit his eyes towards hers with a pink blush at her honest compliment, and so he turned away with an uncomfortable cough. "Leave. I want my peace," he grouched.

"No way," she retorted as she sat up and slid off to make her way to her set of drawers, "I'm going to bed. Sorry, but my body just couldn't take that gravity for that long," she admitted with a tinge of embarrassment. "Plus, all we can do is wait until we find another planet."

"Is the food edible?" he demanded as she rummaged through her drawer and produced a short, frilly, pink nightgown.

Bulma paused to consider his question, clenching her dress to her chest. "Well, I think the fruit is fine -- but maybe not, considering if they've been washed or not... but the dry food should be good. Just check out the capsule labels." Vegeta grunted in assent and made to leave the room, but Bulma cleared her throat to get his attention first. "Um... just be careful, okay, Vegeta?" she asked with a hint of rose blush on her cheeks.

Dark eyes roaming over her face, Vegeta realized that she was considering her death at his hands, and with a mute nod he left the room to ransack the kitchen.

An hour or so later when he returned -- no longer hungry, but definitely feeling the dryness in his throat -- Vegeta found the room darkened and Bulma curled up on top of the bed, wearing that frilly scrap of clothing and clutching that stupid stuffed sheep to her chest. With a small groan of fatigue the Saiyan leaned back against the wall as he deliberated shoving her out of the bed... or crushing her skull... but something suddenly caught his attention. Vegeta pricked up his ears.

"Gentle..." she sighed again as she cuddled into the pillow.

It was then that Vegeta noticed the way her hair fanned out against the pillow in cyan waves, the way her tiny feet pointed daintily even in sleep, the way her skin glowed in the dim starlight, the way the nightie revealed too much of her milky thighs and chest... the way she was possibly the most breakable thing he had ever beheld. His fists clenched in frustration. The bitch was certainly going to die if he got his hands on her without thinking first, and the moment she died he would be stranded here... or possibly blown up by that buffoon she called a father. A low growl made its way through his throat. There was one way he could save her from death... if it ever came to it -- as a last, _last_, LAST resort, because there was no other reason he would ever disgrace himself that way, not unless it was to save his own life. Glaring at the offending woman on the bed, Vegeta brought his hand to the skin below his jaw. "Absolutely not," he muttered for the second time that day, and with a yawn he sauntered to "his" side of the bed and lay down after a moment's hesitation. Perhaps if he just ignored her presence... Vegeta tucked one arm under the back of his head as he closed his eyes. Moments later they bolted open when he felt something warm touch his arm. Vegeta lifted his head in astonishment to see that she had turned over and was simply letting her forehead rest against his tricep. The Saiyan swallowed a dry gulp of air as her face scowled suddenly and she shoved the sheep away so that she could wrap her arms around his.

"Gentle..." she muttered one last time in contentment as she nestled in towards him, her lips resting against his warm, bronze skin as she stilled.

Vegeta suddenly had two warring instincts -- one that urged him to take her and fling her across the room into the wall, and one that wanted to let her stay... because she had never been anything but caustic towards him. This new, peaceful Bulma was... Vegeta laid his head down again and stared at the ceiling, trying to remember when he had ever lain with a woman and not killed her afterwards. Maybe once when... Vegeta closed his eyes with a frown. No, the only woman he had ever had any significant physical contact with and not killed was his mother. In fact, she may have been the _only _ person whom he tolerated touching him other than when he needed a quick fuck, but that was a very long time ago, when he was a little brat and his father...

Slowly, Vegeta drifted off in his thoughts and sleep began to creep in his mind. After all, he was very tired, and she was very warm at his side...

Bulma sighed in her sleep and cuddled into Vegeta's arm of steel.

**A/N: Hmm, what's the emergency method? Y'all are smart so you already know, I'm sure... Please review!!!!**


	5. Note to Self

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

**Something in the Water**

**Note to Self...**

_WHUMP!_

Bulma awoke suddenly as something landed on her stomach and nearly took her breath away. With a silent groan she opened her eyes to see a golden, muscular arm pinning her to the bed and in surprise she followed it to its owner's face, finding with alarm that Vegeta of all people was in bed with her. Groggily, she blinked and tried to get her brain to function as she gaped at his softened features, devoid of the usual scowl. The room was dark... still night? No... too many stars...

Oh. They were in space. Now she could begin to remember the previous day's events as she turned back to the man beside her, but she couldn't recall ever being in bed with him. _I guess he came in after I fell asleep..._ Bulma thought, and it occurred to her that it was oddly sweet for him to not wake her up. Her brain was beginning to work now, and she watched him sleep with mild interest, having never been close to Vegeta when his guard was down -- much less _this_ close.

Eyes moving beneath his shut lids, Vegeta slumbered contentedly with one arm slung across her stomach and the other curled up beneath his pillow, and Bulma lifted her head to see that his legs were sprawled apart. _What a bed monkey..._ Her eyes traced up his dark sweatpants and white tank top to his face again. Much more sweetly that she could have imagined, he rested his head against the pillow and held his mouth slightly slack, and Bulma had to stifle a giggle as she saw a little spot of drool against his cheek. At least he wasn't gross or anything -- in fact, it warmed her to see that he wasn't a regal Prince all the time, and it humanized him a bit to see him in such a relaxed state. Without his fierce frown, Vegeta lost his animalistic handsomeness but gained a natural beauty that surprised Bulma.

Vaguely wondering what time it was, she turned her head towards the side table, but couldn't see over the top of the pillow. Since moving might wake the Prince -- something she suddenly felt loath to do -- she stifled a yawn and again faced the slumbering Saiyan, all the while noticing the dryness in her throat and the heaviness of his arm pinning her to the mattress.

_I wonder how out of it he is..._ Bulma mused as her slight movement didn't wake him. _Aren't warriors supposed to be on guard at all times?_ With a smile creeping onto her lips and her heart beginning to pump wildly in her chest, Bulma slowly lifted her unpinned hand to hover over the top of one of his pecs, hesitated a moment, and barely... softly... gently... let her fingertips graze the skin there.

Bulma had to stifle a gasp at the feeling of his skin. It was so _warm_ and unbelievably hard -- not giving like human skin. Smiling openly now, she let her fingers lightly glide down towards the gaping throat of his shirt and the skin between his pecs, and her heart fluttered with adrenalin. _Hairless_, she thought with a glance at his closed eyes. _I wonder if _everything_ is that way..._

But her inappropriate thoughts were interrupted as Vegeta groaned and rolled over on top of her, his face planting next to her ear, his chest squishing hers beneath, his groin pressing into her --

"GYAHHHHH!" she screeched.

Vegeta's eyes popped open and he yelled too as he catapulted off of her and into the wall opposite the bed, his eyes darting wildly. "WHERE'S THE -- WHAT THE --" he panted, gathering himself into a battle position.

Bulma lay sprawled out against the sheets, her hair tumbling about her shoulders as she scrambled into a sitting position and pointed at him. "YOU -- YOU --" she gasped, frantically clutching her heart, "YOU -- PERVERT!"

"WHO'S THE -- _WHAT?_" he replied in bewilderment, sleep still nestled in his eyes as he tried to regain his bearings and calm his heart.

Blue eyes flashing up at him, Bulma cried, "What do you call THAT?" as she pointed to his groin again, which Vegeta found at full attention as he glanced down at it.

"That's not -- it's not --" he started as his face turned beet red and he glared up at her. "HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD OF MALES WAKING UP THIS WAY?"

"That does NOT include men rolling on TOP OF ME!" she accused as she violently tugged down at the hem of her nightie.

"Well let me guarantee you that it has NOTHING to do with your hideous visage!" he snarled in mortification as he tried to adjust himself, turning away from her and towards the wall, "It's _normal_ for any Saiyan male to wake up this way, Woman!"

"Well -- Well --" she stammered, suddenly remembering that Yamcha woke up with the same 'joy' nearly every morning he was with her, "Well you shouldn't try to get rid of your frustration on _me_!" Already she could feel her outrage leaving her, swiftly followed by a kick in the ass of embarrassment. Of _course_ she knew that that was normal for men, she just forgot it when it happened to be Vegeta on top of her... being all manly, muscle-y, and Saiyan...

"If I wanted to have a nice short _rut_ then I would have, you fool," he hissed through clenched teeth as he turned and stomped to the bathroom.

"Oh-ho don't wait for anything!" she exclaimed dramatically, throwing her arms out as he slammed the door behind him, "It's not like you won't do it in the next few hours!"

And suddenly, Bulma felt like an iron weight had settled on her chest, and her anger was forgotten as she knelt back down on the bed. Vaguely, she could hear Vegeta yelling something profane her way, but all she could focus on was the fact that she was more or less fated to sleep with the Saiyan. How could she have forgotten? How was she going to _survive_ if he was in such a rage?

"I _said_ you're a filthy whore and an utter moron. Did you not hear me?" Vegeta barked as he exited the bathroom to find Bulma staring off into space and clutching the sheet to her chest.

"Goku did it," she breathed, her eyes wide as she snapped her eyes to his.

Vegeta bristled. "What?"

"Goku and Chi Chi have a kid. If they can do it, so can we, right?"

"I didn't mean you were _my_ whore!" he snapped, bewildered by her leap in logic as he took a step back.

"Just think, Vegeta," she begged, crawling towards the edge of the bed and causing him to take another step back, "If you have no control of yourself you'll run right through me! Maybe though, maybe we can figure out a way to keep you... or maybe if we drink the water at different times..."

"Just -- cease your chatter, woman!" he cried, clamping his hands over his ears. "I have no intentions of procreating with such a vile --"

"WHOA buddy, I don't want any kids with _you_!" she said, aghast. "I'm just trying to figure out how to make it through the sex alive!"

Vegeta opened his mouth but fell silent, glaring icily her way. "I will not kill you," he muttered finally as he folded his arms across his chest.

Rolling her eyes and sighing, Bulma slid off of the bed and walked to her chest of drawers. "I don't think you can promise that, Vegeta," she replied as she rummaged through her clothes and selected a pair or green shorts and a loose, ivory top with ruffles climbing up the neck. "You have NO idea what the influence of that drug is like." Bulma turned around to find him taking off his shirt, and she blushed violently out of surprise. "Don't _do_ that," she chastised as she hooded her eyes and went into the bathroom.

"Too difficult for you to keep your hands off?" Vegeta sneered as he himself took out clothes to change into.

Bulma blushed at the truth of his comment. "A little modesty isn't too much to ask!"

"Hn. It's not like you haven't seen it before," he groused as he pulled on a pair of spandex shorts and a white t-shirt.

"Not the point," she countered as she opened the bathroom door and walked past him into the hallway. Saiyan senses tingling, Vegeta followed his companion into the tiny kitchen in search of a meal and was not disappointed. "What we need," she continued as she searched through the various sets of capsules for breakfast, "Is a strategy. You know, a plan of attack. You like those sorts of things, right?" she asked dryly, glancing over her shoulder at him as he settled in one of the small chairs behind her.

With a scowl, Vegeta shifted and squirmed in his seat and found that they were not exactly made for Saiyan musculature. "As usual, I have no interest in what you're prattling about. Give me my meal."

"You SHOULD be interested, since it directly affects whether you get left out here in space or not," she snapped as she popped open two capsules of eggs and bacon. "Don't you want to avoid the whole sex-slash-killing-Bulma deal?"

Vegeta glared at her, taking note of her glimmering blue hair in the false light of the ship and the way her ivory hands darted about as she prepared his meal without the usual griping. "Very well. You may proceed."

Rolling her eyes, she continued as she cooked. "Alright. So by the end of today, you're going down, right? The way I see it, we just have to strategize. Obviously we'll want to be on opposite sides of the ship... and that gravity trick seemed to work with me, but I can't do it to you since I can barely take two Gs... Okay, so there's no keeping you at bay. Next move --" she punched the air with her spoon, and Vegeta raised an eyebrow, "Your water intake. We need to decide whether to let you indulge as much as possible or to limit the amount. What do you think?" she finally asked, turning to set her brilliant blue eyes on his, and Vegeta was surprised to find her face flushed with excitement.

The girl was an addict to problem-solving.

"I think," he said slowly, eyes sliding to the floor as he thought, "that if the average Saiyan feeding frenzy takes place, I will drink without abandon regardless."

Bulma pondered his words, but felt a twinge of happiness at his candor. "So, is everything like that to a Saiyan? You know, the intensity with which you fight being the same as that with which you eat?"

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her question. "Yes."

"Then... that would be the same for everything else, too?" Bulma stared shrewdly at his blank face.

"What?"

Taking the pan off the stove, Bulma swiftly poured the food into two bowls -- one tiny, and one bucket-sized. "I mean, if Saiyans are that crazy about eating, and the same for fighting or just being an ass in general --" Vegeta grimaced "-- then you must be equally as invested in sex, if not more."

Vegeta flushed violently, and Bulma smiled into his face as she set his bowl in front of him. "No time to be shy, now," she teased as she flashed him a sparkling grin and returned to the stove, "I need to know all the _juicy_ details about your sexual appetite."

"You are intolerably vulgar!" he snarled as his color deepened, and he snatched up the bowl to bring it to his lips.

"No, I'm simply thorough -- and mildly interested in blackmail, but that's beside the point. So when we say that you, Vegeta, are intense about sex, are we talking about intense like 'oh you and your wily ways' or are we talking 'hey that's my vagina, and I'd like to use it sometime'?"

Vegeta gagged on his eggs, and Bulma raised an eyebrow as a tilted smile grew on her cheeks. "Big, bad Saiyan man thinks I'm funny," she commented as Vegeta thumped his chest and coughed up the remaining bits. "So I'm right then?" she concluded, leaning across the table and setting her face in her hands as she smugly stared into his dark eyes.

Sending her a savage glare, he rose from the table to put some space between them. "You have seen enough of Saiyan battle to understand the Saiyan fortitude, Woman. Understand now that this is no laughing matter," he snarled as his gaze slid to the galaxy beyond the window, and Bulma narrowed her eyes at his out-of-focus view. "Saiyans do not take mates lightly; however, we do rut enough to sate our hungers until the next available time or until we take our mates. It is a dangerous ordeal, even for Saiyan women. It was widely known that our females were routinely damaged or killed in rutting, and our men often resorted to cavorting with unsuspecting aliens."

Slowly his eyes came back to meet her wide, blue oceans. "I do not know how Kakarrot has managed to mate with his earthling unscathed. Perhaps it is intentional, or perhaps more than his aggression was pummeled out of him when he crashed on your planet. All I know is that the only way to prevent damage is either through unbelievable concentration or actual mating."

Having never heard the Prince speak so long on a neutral subject, Bulma blinked stupidly as his words caught up with her brain. "So... what do you think about that in terms of, you know, now?" she asked, cocking her head to the side and peering up at him.

Mutely, he removed his bowl, threw it in the sink, and turned around to pin her to the chair with his enigmatic gaze. "There is no way for me to predict how I will react with the drug. I will..." he paused, grinding his teeth together and trying to control his swift anger, "I will not kill you, and if I find myself leaning towards that reaction... I will take matters into my own hands." With that, he snapped his chin up and turned back into the hallway.

"Hey, uh, what 'matters'?" she asked in consternation, rising from her chair.

Vegeta ignored her.

"What 'MATTERS'?" she yelled after him, but his only response was to slam the door behind him. Bulma sighed and blew a chunk of hair out of her face as she crossed her arms. Suddenly, she realized that they had never come to any sort of conclusion on a strategy. _I guess we'll be flying by the seat of our pants..._

"Heathen..." she muttered before she left for the control room.

____________________________________

Many hours later, after rambling the circular hallway more times than she could count, after playing card games with the computer system, after tinkering with the GR, after checking all the diagnostics of the ship, and after having successfully been avoided by a certain surly Saiyan, Bulma sighed as she sat down against the glass wall of the hallway and listlessly tilted her head to stare off into the dark abyss of space. She had never been this bored in _years._

"Dear self: Please do not go on any more outrageous adventures without proper preparation EVER AGAIN," she grumbled, feeling the dryness burn in her throat. "Love, self."

All she could think about was how badly she wanted some water to quench her thirst... She had only had that half-a-glass since she had been in hyper-sleep, and that dehydrated a person enough as it was.

She was doomed.

Interrupting her morose thoughts, a click from down the hall alerted her to Vegeta's movement. Bulma wondered what he was up to, but moments later she could hear him ripping through the kitchen. _And guess who will have to clean that up later?_ she thought wryly. Sure enough, she heard a strangled cry echo through the hallways. "What's the deal?" she called without much interest.

"Why the FUCK aren't there any liquids on this ship?" he screamed before he tore through the hallway and into her bemused presence.

"Ah, perhaps because we were loaded up with the essentials. It's easier to pack them in powdered form and to just add the water..." she explained, but as soon as she took in his appearance, her voice faltered.

He looked like shit warmed over.

"...But, uh," she continued, her eyes roving over his haggard face, his pale tone beneath his tanned skin, and his increasingly-aggressive eyes, "Next time I'll remedy that. Hey, are you okay?"

"Fucking fantastic," he seethed, and he abruptly swung his entire right side to punch the air around him. "I'm in space with the most irritating person the galaxy has ever known, equipped with no water, and I can't even train -- which was the reason I got on this piece of shit in the first place!"

Though normally Bulma could rise to his bait quicker than anyone, Vegeta's drained appearance and wild eyes unnerved her more than his words. "Why don't you just sit down, and I'll go look for some food with liquids in it," she said soothingly as she stood and gestured to the glass wall, her eyes scrutinizing the way his entire body seemed tense, and how she could feel the instability of his ki emanating from him.

"Don't you think I've already done that?" he snarled with a thrust of his head towards hers. "You petty _humans_ may not be able to smell it, but any Saiyan can taste water on his tongue a mile away!"

"Vegeta," she commanded in her best mother impersonation, "Sit." His eyes bored into hers a moment longer before he threw himself down like a child against the glass, and Bulma knelt down next to him to stare into his shifting eyes. "I want to check your vitals, okay?"

"They're fine."

"Not that it's saying anything, but increased irritability is a sign of dehydration," she murmured, trying to soothe despite her tongue-in-cheek words. "I need to know how severe it is, because I have to tell you, Vegeta, you're not looking so good."

Vegeta's surprised eyes finally met hers before she took his silence as assent and she pressed two fingers into the skin of his forearm. Both of them watched as she removed them and the skin beneath stayed flat, sluggishly rising back to its original form, and Bulma's eyes widened in distress. Without a word she lifted her gaze to his and placed her hands around his eyes. Vegeta flinched.

No woman had been allowed to touch him so intimately, and Bulma felt it in his sudden tensing. Sure, he had fucked his share of whores, but he called the shots, he took the reins, he took the lives; there was no unnecessary touching. This simple skin-to-skin contact, her obvious show of concern, struck him in a dangerous way. It suddenly reminded him that he had let her snuggle up to his side last night... He had no clue what she was doing, and her intense concentration threw him off as--

Bulma placed her thumbs under his eyes and pushed a little, making Vegeta rear back in indignation. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed as he pushed himself away from her, and Bulma made a face back at him.

"Come back over here, you weenie! I'm checking out your tear glands and your eye sockets!" she snapped, holding out her hands again to him.

"I don't see how that's necessary!" he retorted as he touched his fingers to his face defensively. _Apparently that was not as intimate as I had thought..._

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "I'm determining the stage of your dehydration. I need to know how much longer you can hold out -- _safely_," she emphasized at the dirty look he shot her.

Muscled in his jaw twitching, Vegeta finally inched back over to where she sat with one eyebrow arched into the air. "Quickly," he muttered, and Bulma reached back out to his face -- perhaps even more gently that before.

As her delicate fingers probed the area around his eyes, Vegeta wondered if she was this way with all the males in her life. Protective and possessive? He thought about the weakling that she had disposed of not long ago, and his stomach clenched at the idea of their affinity for one another.

Bulma, on the other hand, was busy ignoring her own roiling insides as she evaluated her patient. "Hmm. Not much water left in your eyes," she commented as she peered into them, noticing that his irises were actually black with streaks of umber. His pupils, in fact, were quite small. "Your eyes are beginning to sink in a bit... and your temperature..." Bulma placed one of her hands on his forehead and noted that his skin -- so seemingly hot this morning -- was as cool as her hand. "Your temperature is down."

With a sigh she leaned back on her haunches, and Vegeta felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "What are you saying?" he asked impatiently.

"I'm saying I think you only have a few hours until you're in a bad, bad state, Vegeta," she replied, and then she herself looked down at her hands. Frowning, she pressed into her own skin and noticed the same reaction -- the rubbery imprint. "And you know what? I might be right there with you."

_________________________________

**A/N: *Wipes hand across brow* That took way too long. I got a bit stuck figuring out all the details... and taking a vacation. Please PLEASE REVIEW!!! You never know when a lemon might pop up... :)**


	6. Animals

A/N: Warning: For adult audiences ONLY! Heed the rating! Read at your own risk! ;)

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

**Something in the Water**

**__________________________________**

**Animals**

"You can't eat," she sighed, lolling her head back against the pillow.

"Well if I can't eat then how am I supposed to fucking SURVIVE?" he snapped back.

Bulma and Vegeta sat on opposite sides of the room and glared at one another.

"Digestion takes fluids. It dehydrates you more. I vote we just drink and get it over with," she replied evenly, looking down her full lashes to the man sitting against the wall with his hands dangling between his knees.

"_No_," he hissed back. Rising with knees cracking and acid burning in his throat, Vegeta struggled to get on his feet and wander back into the hallway where he could watch for any signs of nearby planets.

"You're going to let yourself _die_ before we find a planet," she chanted to the empty room, and it took her a few minutes before she could force herself to get up and follow him. "Vegeta..." she called lazily, meandering towards his prone figure against the window, "Give up."

As he measured up the woman stumbling before him -- her ivory top dangling down on one of her shoulders and her green shorts rumpled against her hips -- Vegeta realized that his brain was working much slower than usual. He was having to force himself to remember why he didn't want to tear into the water tank and submerge himself in the treacherous liquid below.

"Shut the hell up," he muttered, ebony eyes flickering from her figure to his body.

"Tell you what," she replied as she took an aching seat against the wall opposite him and closed her eyes like she was sipping on sweet tea, "I'll sit here and irritate you until you get up and get something to drink, because I'm about to die here."

"Why the sudden eagerness?" he growled, wishing that he thought it was funny.

Bulma shook her head and stared out into space. "At this point, why not? I'm literally and physically dying for a drink, and you're going first."

Scrutinizing her weak presence for a moment and realizing that he didn't really give a damn either, Vegeta assumed her position and closed his eyes, waiting for the signal from the ship that there was an inhabitable planet nearby...

________________________________________

A/N: Refer to Preface if need be.

Bulma remembered, tasting the acid on her tongue and feeling the aches in her joints. Just moments ago he had left... Her deranged mind conjured up images of the Saiyan bathing in the precious water, spoiling her chance to drink for herself._ That bastard_, she seethed with the remaining energy left in her body. _What the hell is taking him so long? He probably just wants me to die here..._

But she forced herself to calm down. She was fine. All she needed was a taste of that water.

_But Vegeta told me to stay here and keep quiet._

What did he know anyway? He may have not even been affected by it. He was probably just back there guzzling away and forgot about her.

Bulma had made up her mind. She needed to drink too, and that was final. Nearly screaming with the effort, she hauled herself up against the wall and shoved off to propel herself towards the kitchen. Bulma staggered towards the light at the end of the hallway as her vision swam slightly before her. "Vegeta," she called weakly, grasping the doorway as she entered.

When she saw the Saiyan hunched in the corner with his hands crushed through his hair, Bulma felt her brain tell her something, but the sound of a tiny drip snatched her attention away, at the sight of the water tap Bulma flew to the sink.

Wrenching the tap open, she greedily plunged her face into the stream and gulped down the spilling liquid, sputtering and coughing in her haste. Water poured from her mouth and nose, but she inhaled all she could anyway and ground herself against the counter to get a better angle beneath the frothing stream.

When she could take it no more, Bulma stumbled away from the faucet and backed into the opposite counter as she coughed and wiped her dripping chin against her forearm. Looking down, she found that her shirt was nearly soaked at the neck and chest, and water had slipped its fingers into her hair that hung against her shoulders. "Shit," she muttered, wiping off her shirt and beginning to feel more lucid -- albeit waterlogged -- as her body responded to the desperately-needed nutrients.

It was then that she finally took in her surroundings and noticed the Saiyan crouched in the corner, his eyes blazing into hers and his muscles bulging. One of his bronze arms propped him against the floor while the other gripped a knee as though he had stilled mid-movement, but his face revealed more of his intentions than his body: Instead of his normal to-hell-with-you scowl, he peered at her through his brows, and his nostrils flared as he breathed. There was no frown -- no expression on his face.

Slowly her hands stopped their motions as she appraised his stillness and his intensity, and her thoughts began to hearken back to her original fears.

_Fuck._

Very slowly, as her eyes opened wide and her hands gripped the counters around her, she began to back out of the kitchen with adrenalin pulsing through her veins.

The moment her toes touched the hall, a growl rumbled from the animal in the corner, and she froze. _Maybe it makes Saiyans murderous,_ she thought in alarm, eyes scanning the room for immediate weapons, and one quick moment her muscles tensed up as she shoved off the counter and flung herself into the hall.

She had gotten two steps before she heard a crash behind her, and on her third step she twisted her neck to find a dent in the wall with Vegeta sprung in midair behind her.

Bulma gasped and closed her eyes.

Tangled limbs and snarls crashed into the floor, but the Saiyan had wrenched his hands through her hair and behind her neck to roughly cradle her head against his chest, and when Bulma opened her eyes again she ached everywhere but her skull. Jumbled beneath him on the floor, Bulma cried out when he immediately wrestled her into his arms. A growl thundered through her ears as he violently grabbed one of her hips while snapping her head back by her hair at the base of her neck.

"NO!" she cried as his eyes bored into hers and he bared his teeth in a feral grimace. Screeching with all her might, eyes rolling in terror, Bulma shoved her palms against his face and viciously kicked her legs until a heavy grunt told her that she had hit the spot, and his loosened hands let her scramble away to the window where she tried to pull herself upright, her hair flowing wildly about her shoulders and her eyes brimming over with tears.

"Vegeta don't!" she begged as the Saiyan slowly stood with eyes blazing in fury and his muscles shaking with restraint. "It's me -- Bulma!"

His irises -- so defined before with their umber and ebony streaks -- had disappeared. For a moment she thought that he was no longer the Vegeta she knew and -- well, loathed.

Putting her palms up in meek surrender, her voice came out trembling as he pulled himself into a fighting position. "Please remember what you said, Vegeta," she whimpered, trying to sound authoritative despite her meek stance, "You wouldn't kill me."

His voice found its way out, rough and gravely from the snarls and growls. "I don't want to kill you," he said lowly, baring his teeth in intimidation as his chin declined and his eyes gleamed maliciously.

Bulma's breath caught in her throat as she felt a familiar wave of warmth slide over her bones. "You mustn't hurt me, Vegeta," she squeaked, plastering herself against the cold glass as he began to encroach on her.

"I'll do whatever the _fuck_ I want," he hissed. Suddenly his hands lashed out like lightning, and he pinned one of her arms down against the glass and shoved his legs between hers, forcing her to straddle his thighs as his other hand gripped her neck and jaw.

"_Please_ don't hurt me," she sobbed, and she closed her eyes to keep out the penetrating stare of the monster before her.

Though before he had barely recognized her as anything other than humanoid, Vegeta felt a stirring of thoughts alien to this hormone-driven body as her tears splashed down his fingers and her sobs shook her body.

_You're going to kill her_, some part of him said in warning, and the ruthless Saiyan pinning his next female down snarled in defiance to his conscience.

Bulma opened her eyes at his snarl and frantically shoved her loose hand against his face with a terrified squeak, pushing him away by the mouth and jaw.

Instinctively he snapped his teeth over the offending appendage, and Bulma cried out in pain, ripping her hand away.

But his own actions had registered a thought in his mind again.

_Bulma._

Suddenly, despite the blaze searing his limbs and the need filling his stomach, Vegeta remembered her, his little companion, and saw the terror wading in her brimming eyes.

Tears coursed down her cheeks, her arm was going numb from his pressure, and she could barely move her face against his hand. "Vegeta, please," she begged at his hesitation, even as her own heart began to race with something other than fear.

_You're going to kill her,_ his thoughts reminded him again.

"What the fuck do you want from me?" he screamed to himself, gnashing his teeth together and cowing the woman before him.

"Save me," she begged, her voice breaking. "Don't hurt me."

Vegeta's eyes, nearly gone with madness, landed on her jaw -- his hand over her neck -- and suddenly he remembered. He had told her he would do whatever it took. Barely keeping still beneath the ardor that threatened to overwhelm his self-control, Vegeta raised his eyes to her large, blue oceans, and he could see his reflection in them.

An animal.

He would not kill her. Not today. Not this way.

With a snarl he dipped his head and moved his hand to the other side of her neck as his teeth sunk into to the skin beneath her jaw.

Bulma screamed in terror and pain as Vegeta pushed her body up against the glass to keep her still as he sucked the blood from her wound, trying desperately to ignore the fire in his groin that made him want to forget her name and just fuck the woman.

At first she thought she had never felt pain that intense. Every pull from his lips brought out her blood, and she thought he would drink her dry like a vampire, but then something changed. Soon, pain mixed with the molten heat that surged through her veins, and Bulma's agony became pleasure. She felt hot and confused, panting as the the muscular man feasted on her life's blood and held her up with his iron body. The feeling of his mouth on her neck, his body pressing hers, and the blaze in her stomach thrilled her, and on its own accord her free hand snaked up around his shoulder to clutch his muscle there.

Suddenly she felt the absence of his mouth on her neck, and his bloodied lips appeared before her nose as Vegeta stared down on her in agonized restraint. "Here," he groaned, and he pulled her face to his neck as he raised his chin and shut his eyes.

Bulma peered stupidly at the skin before her as her lips rested gently against his neck before the fire raced through her head. Suddenly she found her mouth moving against his skin like a lover, licking and tasting and kissing. Vegeta groaned again, letting go of her head to hold himself up against the window while her ministrations nearly drove him off the brink of sanity.

He was salty and electric all at the same time, and Bulma whispered his name before she sunk her teeth into his neck, eliciting hiss from the man crushed against her. Blood spilling into her mouth, Bulma lapped at the iron taste and suckled his wound as her hands roved about and clutched his shoulders.

Her eyes opened as she felt the blood spark in her mouth.

Spark?

Immediately she felt that electricity pulse down her throat and through her veins. Gasping for breath, she flung her head back against the glass, moaning as she fiercely clung to his shoulders, and Vegeta opened his eyes to watch the transformation of the woman before him. Shudders ran through her frame, and he nearly lost control as she arched her back into him and moaned again, her hands snaking up into his wild mane of hair.

Blue sparks skittered across her skin where their skin touched, and Bulma nearly screamed in a mixture of pleasure and pain as the electricity joined the fire in her hips. "V -- Veg -- eta --" she gasped, her body trembling involuntarily as his power surged through her system, tingling her toes and igniting her chest.

The Saiyan could take it no longer. With a growl he swooped his lips back to her neck to nip his way across her jaw and down her slender column, skimming over the pulsing bite mark on her neck. The sharing of his energy was almost like sex itself as it pushed in and out of her body through his own.

"Please," she panted, her hands slipping down his chest to meet with the seam of his sweatpants, "I need... I can't --"

Pulling his lips from her neck for one small moment, Vegeta looked into her eyes and saw with pleasure her aching need and her dilated pupils. He had done what he could. Snarling with ferocity, he pulled his hands from the window down to her shirt to rip it up from her body, and Bulma screamed in surprise as the fabric tore across her back.

She was too far gone to be irritated.

Her hands trembled as they shot out to tug against his shirt. Still propping her up on his hips against the window, Vegeta put his hands in the air so she could pull the offending shirt over his head and toss the it away.

Meanwhile, the pulsing Saiyan took one half of her shorts in both hands and ripped it in two as Bulma's fingernails scraped against his shoulders. She cried out as he roughly shoved a hand between her thighs and lifted her from his hips to let the rest of the shorts fall down her dangling leg. Stepping back, he let her feet down to the floor so she could yank his sweatpants down to reveal that he wore no underwear, and he swiftly stepped out of the pants before she could even get a good look at him.

Slamming her back against the glass, Vegeta pressed his fully-erect manhood against her core, and Bulma cursed herself for daring to wear her bra and panties. With a frustrated squeak she arched her back and awkwardly unclasped her bra to toss it away, letting her breasts bounce down to meet the glistening muscles of his chest.

Their breaths mingled in the air between their faces as Vegeta slid his hands down her waist to her hips, where with a spark of electricity he singed the corner of her underwear and snapped it off, letting it slide to the side of her thigh.

For one moment their eyes finally met as he paused minutely between movements. There was a tacit understanding as they panted and she bit her lip, looking with pleading eyes into his dark orbs.

But that connection was broken as he slid his hand between her thighs and into her wet lips, roughly massaging her nub. Bulma cried out as she flung back her head and closed her eyes in bliss. The fire coursed through their veins, urging them on as Vegeta plunged two fingers into her depths and stroked, feeling that she was ready for the taking.

"Vegeta," she moaned, and he brought one hand behind her to clutch her bottom and lift her while his other hand clutched the back of her neck. He positioned himself beneath her, rubbing his tip across her entrance, and with a snarl Vegeta dropped her against his shaft and shoved up with his hips, impaling her on his manhood. Screaming in pleasure, Bulma arched her back to rub her tingling breasts against his chest.

Wasting no time, the bronze Adonis slammed into her in waves as sweat began to drip from his neck down his chest, and he brought his lips to her neck again, moaning "fuckkkkkk...."

Her arms reached down across his back to dig her fingernails in as electrical sparks glittered across where their skin met. The cold glass warmed where her back pressed against it, and later she would be thankful that there was no one in space to see the scene at the long window.

Their bodies clung to each other, united by sweat and sparks, and Vegeta ruthlessly pounded in and out of her body as she panted with him, her voice too raw and dry to keep screaming long after he began.

The two beat into each other wildly, heeding no rules and savoring no touch as lust thrust them into each other. Though their ardor pushed them, their bodies were weak from exhaustion, and soon Bulma began to lean against him, feeling the indescribable pull in her gut as he pushed in and out. The fire began to dim as her hunger was sated, but she thought she would never want this unbelievable pleasure to leave her.

Vegeta could feel her beginning to wilt against him, and with a growl he pulled away from the window with her in his arms to lay her down against the cold floor, still moving in and out of her with a vengeance despite his weakened state.

Bulma laid her head back against the floor and moaned, letting her hands drift up into his hair as he leaned over her and drilled into her, and her legs stayed wrapped up around his hips as she scraped her fingernails across his scalp.

Suddenly he began to shudder as his movements picked up speed. Bulma was left gasping for breath as he grunted heavily and felt himself sliding over the edge.

"Vegeta!" she panted, arching into him as he roughly rubbed against her, and he was not unaware of her enjoyment. Leaning over, he finally let himself get a taste of her skin as he nipped one of her breasts, moving to suckle on her tip as she mewled in pleasure. Bulma thought her skin would light on fire every place his tongue touched, and she felt an ungodly pressure building in her core.

Feeling himself beginning to spill into her, Vegeta moved his hand to her clit and rubbed while he slammed into her faster and faster. Bulma bucked off the floor with a blood-curdling scream, her hands leaving his body to desperately clutch at the floor. Vegeta joined her with a strained stream of curses before she began to shake and explode with her toes curling up in the air around his hips as her entire body convulsed. Never had he experienced such a tightening around his member, such a mind-blowing pull...

A high-pitched keening echoed through the hallway and signaled their release as Vegeta dropped to her chest with one last grunt, letting himself stay inside of her as he panted against her body.

Trembling wildly as her mind raved to keep up, Bulma kept her legs held tight around his hips, afraid that if she moved she might just fall apart. His body against hers was heaven. She reveled in the feeling of his heavy muscles pressing her down, his sweat sliding against hers, the dimming burn of their groins together, and his musky scent like a bouquet around her.

As their breathing quieted Vegeta finally opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows to look at the woman beneath him. Though he could still feel a certain need coursing through his body, he felt that he could ignore it to look at her flushed cheeks, shining eyes, and wild hair. His intense gaze brought a blush to her face, and Bulma began to peer up at him sheepishly as she realized just who she had been ruthlessly fucked by.

Vegeta's mind felt blank as he put together the pieces of the last half hour, and he looked down to see their hips joined below. Mindlessly he gave a little thrust into her, and Bulma squeaked in pain from her now-sensitive nub, causing him to bring his eyes back to her face.

Embarrassed by her weakness, Bulma blushed again at his scrutiny, and Vegeta's eyes settled on her mouth. _Didn't even kiss her_, his mind remarked in irritation, scowling as he saw the bite mark on her neck and the trails of blood all over her ivory skin from his wandering lips.

Bulma saw his gaze and brought her hand to her neck, gingerly touching her wound. "What's this?" she rasped softly, her voice heavy from screaming.

Vegeta's stomach plummeted at his own realization...

**A/N: So there's my first lemon. Rather tricky to write since they're both not exactly sane at the moment. To be continued... Please review!**


	7. Cut to the Chase

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

A/N: So looks like I've been awol for quite some time now. I apologize sincerely... I know how irritating that is.

**Something in the Water**

**Cut to the Chase**

**__________________________________**

"Fucking shit," he muttered, groaning as he pulled himself out of her. Bulma squeaked in surprise and soreness as Vegeta knelt back on his haunches, holding himself up with his hands against his legs.

"I think I need a hip replacement," she hissed as she slowly moved her legs back together with a wince, but her sudden realization that she was naked with _Vegeta_ caused her to scramble together and search wildly around for her clothes.

Vegeta glared at the offending rags she pulled her way and scowled at the thought of her encasing her gleaming body beneath them. "Don't bother," he barked as her cheeks reddened prettily, "I'm sure we'll be fucking soon again."

Bulma didn't miss his derision. "I sure as hell hope not," she snapped back, her eyes flashing in irritation. "You got lucky. Hopefully we'll find a planet within the next day or so --"

"Ha!" he sneered as he sat back against the cold steel wall and bared his manhood to her without shame, "We'll fuck whether we find a planet or not."

"Would you stop saying that?" she hissed as she scrambled into the remnants of her top.

"Feeling like a slut yet?" he taunted. "We'll _fuck_ because you and I can both still feel that poison in our bodies -- and because we mated."

Bulma paused in her movements, looking down at her bare thighs. Yes, if she could still feel that pulsating heat running through her body, then he most certainly could, and it was only a matter of time before...

"Did you hear me?" he barked, interrupting her thoughts.

Blue eyes flashed to his dark ones. "I was just considering your words, asshole. I'm not placing any bets yet, so we'll just see what happens --"

"I said we mated."

Pursing her lips in constant agitation, Bulma held her top to her chest to hide her nakedness, and her eyes narrowed. "Obviously."

With a glare, he snapped, "Do you not listen, woman? I explained to you the difference between rutting and mating yesterday."

"No, you didn't _explain_ anything, you just mentioned the two words in the context of the conversation in order for me to get the gist of things, Mr. Mysterious," she pouted, averting her eyes from his manhood.

"We rut, we fuck. We _mate --_ we bind ourselves to one another," he replied darkly as he glared down at his hands.

Bulma's head snapped up as she brought her hand to the bite mark on her neck. "You said Goku and Chi Chi mated, right?"

His gaze sliding to hers, Vegeta made a curt nod as a grimace spread over his curved lips.

"You mean like... married?" she squeaked as her eyes opened wide and mouth fell agape.

Vegeta flushed with regret and embarrassment. "Mating is more binding than your silly written contracts," he muttered, casting his eyes out the window. "I just saved both our skins -- yours from being fucked to death and mine from your father's remote control."

"Can-you-not-use-any-other-word-to-describe-it?" she gritted out, mortified at his casual admittance of their carnal experience.

"Does it appall your human sense of decency?" he sneered, "Because I have single-handedly just disgraced thousands of years of royal Saiyan bloodlines by tainting my hands with your filthy blood!"

Bulma flushed. "You didn't seem to have a problem with it a few minutes ago!"

"And you mewled like the whore you are."

Watching him bare his teeth at her, Bulma felt a pull in her stomach as their tempers rose and his bestial side reared its head. God, he was hot. There was no denying that the anger and tension between them heated things up. "Get over yourself, Vegeta," she snapped, stumbling over the words.

Smirking at her obvious fluster, Vegeta stood up with a lazy stretch and a yawn, and Bulma's eyes were drawn straight to his manhood. She hadn't exactly had the presence of mind earlier to examine his equipment, but she could definitely see why --

"Need anything else?" he drawled as he cracked his back and swayed before her, and Bulma gasped as she tore her eyes away from him.

"Sorry but you're standing right in my face!"

Vegeta laughed darkly. "Patience. Soon enough, my little bitch," he tossed over his shoulder as he padded down the hallway, swiping his shorts off the floor on his way.

Enraged, Bulma could only summon up a scream of reply as he disappeared into the gravity machine.

_________________________________

"Hi, Daddy."

Bulma looked guiltily up at the screen as her father stared down at her with a mixture of pity and violent embarrassment. After collecting her rags of clothing, she had wandered back to the bedroom to replace her outfit (choosing a short, puffy skirt cinched at the waist and a simple v-neck top -- just in case...) and had made her way back to the control room to check the status of the nearby planets. With no promising stops in sight, she had turned with a frown to the blinking messages on the screen and finally broke down to call her distressed father.

"We've been -- we've been mighty worried, dear," he replied gently with shifting eyes and a tug on his mustache. "I can't say that your mother hasn't been in sunny spirits, though..."

"Yeahhhh," she muttered in assent, looking down at her bare feet.

There was an awkward pause in the conversation.

Dr. Briefs coughed. "Well that's a nice skirt you have there. Nice floral pattern --"

"Wealreadyhadsex," she blurted out, blushing furiously as she stared up at the screen.

"...what?"

"You heard me. We already _did it_ and now we're waiting for another planet to stop on."

Reaching up to rub his eyes, Dr. Briefs sighed, "How long...?"

"Um, let's say I should probably take a shower now," she admitted begrudgingly.

Her father grimaced. "...You are aware that it comes and goes in cycles?"

"Yeah, but I was just hoping..."

"Me too, dear."

Father and daughter stared at one another in mortification until finally, with a sigh, she simply reached over and turned the signal off.

An hour or so after the initial breakdown, Bulma found herself at her little desk fiddling with one of her prototypes and wondering how Vegeta was feeling about everything and if he too was feeling that horrible pull when suddenly -- "Ow, ow, fuckity _fuck_," she hissed as her middle finger sliced across the keen steel and began to drip all over the counter.

Muttering curses under her breath she shot up from her chair and ran down the hallway, her bare feet slapping the cool floor as blood seeped down her wrist. How could a stupid cut bleed so much? Bulma fled to the bathroom to rummage through the cabinets for the first aid kit when she heard the GR power down. If only she could find that stupid tube of skin-mender...

A shadow on the floor and a surprising lurch in her stomach told Bulma that Vegeta had entered the room behind her, but she ignored him as capsules fell to the floor around her. "Have you done anything with the skin --"

Bulma gasped as she was flipped around by the shoulders and found herself staring into Vegeta's dark eyes. Mutely, he seized her hand and brought it up between them.

Bulma frowned. "I can do it mys--"

But she was cut off as he pulled her hand to his mouth and bared his teeth as his tongue shot out to lick from her wrist to her fingertip. Bulma's stifled a cry as his dark eyes flickered hungrily to hers before he took her fingertip in his mouth and sucked, pulling her blood from her with a fiery burn.

"I -- I think I need to sanitize that now," she squeaked as she tried desperately to ignore her yearnings and yank her hand away.

Vegeta growled and let her hand go, but roughly grabbed her by the buttocks and hauled her up against his sweaty chest as he glared down into her eyes. "I saved your puny life by mixing your foul blood with mine, did I not?" he demanded as she froze up in his arms, drowning in his dark gaze.

"You can't intimidate me into having sex with you," she whimpered as she stared up plaintively into his eyes.

A feral grin began to trace his lips. "You are my bonded and my mate now. It's in your _blood_," he rasped, and his eyes glinted with some hidden knowledge that made her stomach churn excitedly.

When she made no answer -- her eyes widening with panic -- Vegeta bared his teeth and declined his head to hers. "What are you doing?" she breathed, and her hands curled into claws at his shoulders as her back tightened.

His ebony eyes flickered towards hers, and she could smell his unique musk invading her space. "I believe I forgot to take such liberties before..." he answered slyly, and Bulma's mouth gently parted as her brain made the connection.

She wanted to tell him to stop -- she wanted to shove him away, but the rest of her screamed for more as his lips descended and he chuckled in triumph. Muscles tensing and fingers flexing, Bulma stood enchanted as his mouth covered hers, and a surge of heat and lust like none before swooped down on her as she tasted him.

Vegeta took no concern of her well-being as he roughly began to move his lips against hers, commanding his entrance and her suppliance. He could feel that foreign poison weaving through his veins, but his hands on her buttocks and her breasts against his chest made him forget that he should be despising her. He had never tasted such sweetness, and the wrongness of their union only made it maddeningly tempting. He flicked his tongue against her teeth as he felt her body begin to relax, and he had to withhold a smile of triumph as she ever-so-slightly moved her mouth with his.

When Bulma felt his hands move down her skirt, she gasped and tore her mouth away, searching his face for his gaze. "Come on, woman," he drawled with an evil glint in his eye, "I know you can do better than that."

And somehow his taunting became a compliment in her ears. Sending a sneer his way, Bulma moved her arms to his neck and hauled herself in, pushing up against him with all her might and ravaging his mouth with her own. Vegeta was actually surprised, and for a moment he stood still as she manipulated him before his brain kicked in gear and he grasped her tightly, moving his mouth with hers. He had to remind himself of her weakness, and with a grunt he let the floodgates of his power open up. Hot, sparking energy appeared between them again, and Bulma felt like her blood was beginning to sizzle.

Moments later she felt one of his arms disappear, and a crash of toiletries and makeup fell to the floor as Vegeta swiped the counter behind her so that he could shove her tiny figure back onto the marble. Hissing as her creamy thighs hit the searing, cold counter, Bulma pulled her mouth from his with a look of consternation. "Stop breaking all my stuff," she whined even as her hips told her to forget it.

"Stop putting your _stuff_ where I want to fuck you," he retorted with gritted teeth as he pushed her flush against the mirror behind her, and Bulma found herself laughing despite the entire situation. Vegeta's eyes narrowed as he yanked her skirt up to her waist. "What the hell is so hilarious, female?"

Hands moving up on their own to entwine in his raven mane, Bulma smiled down at his irritated countenance, saying, "This entire thing is ridiculous, that's what's so funny! And you're so freaking literal, Vegeta."

However, by this point her nails raking across his scalp had distracted the Saiyan, and his retort was lost as he buried his face against the unmarked side of her neck while one hand tugged mercilessly on her top.

"Give me a second and I'll take it off!" she shrieked, jarred by his rough tugging, and Vegeta growled warningly at her impertinence as he backed away. "Well you should get those poor excuses for shorts off too, you know," she grumbled, hands shaking with adrenalin and lust as she pulled her top over her head.

Vegeta would have liked to make some retort to her logic, but it was... logical. Deftly he stripped his shorts down to the floor as his eyes caught on her bouncing breasts barely contained in a neon pink bra. "You could use that as a fucking landing strip," he muttered, casting her face a contemptuous glance.

Bulma's own eyes were trained on his manhood that jutted out painfully from his cut hips. "Next time, just say you like them," she retorted, though in a burst of rebelliousness she reached behind her to pop her bra open. Letting it hang against her shoulders to cover her chest, Bulma smirked deviously as she leaned forward and spread her legs on the counter.

Red heat surged behind his eyeballs at her fiendishness, and Vegeta surged forward to slam his mouth to hers as he dragged her hips to the counter to meet his pulsing erection. Sparks erupted as they reunited, and she dimly realized that his energy was seeping into her.

Bulma's breath came out in huffs as he let his lips travel down her neck to her chest, where he pulled back to yank the bra off her shoulders so that his eyes could devour her pearly globes.

A strangled moan rose in her throat when his hand came up to cover her breast, and Bulma tilted her head back in ecstasy as his mouth moved closer and closer to her rosy nipples. The moment his mouth closed over one pert breast Bulma jumped against him, her nerves stretched to the breaking point, and she could feel a line of wetness seeping down the side of her panties. Mewling, she savored the moment before she dragged her hand back through his hair to pull him upright again.

Vegeta's irate confusion at her interruption vanished when she proceeded to slam her crotch against his manhood again to sate her unbearable pressure, and his canines flashed in pleasure as he took her up on her offer and ground against her. Letting his mouth and tongue torture her neck and ear, Vegeta reveled in the sound of her haggard breathing and her wild, rolling eyes.

Her moaning drove him over the edge. Letting one hand drift down to her panties, Vegeta could feel that she had soaked her flimsy garment. With a feral grin of satisfaction at her weakness, the Saiyan pulled her panties down and across her thighs until they dropped at her knees to the floor.

The moment slowed to a crawl as Bulma leaned her head against his in what one might consider an intimate touch, letting her nose brush against his as he looked down at his positioned member. As she felt his manhood push against her swollen core, Bulma saw his thick lashes look up into hers, and her breath caught in her throat at what she felt was some important moment in time. Breaths mingling in the air for that one pregnant second, Bulma and Vegeta suddenly surged together as their eyes closed and mouths crushed each other's.

Her fingers clenched against his solid shoulders as his girth pushed through her, Vegeta felt her tense up as he pulled her hips to his. Sparks skittered across their skin. A mix between a moan and a growl slipped through his lips, and Vegeta gritted his teeth in ecstasy as her legs came up to wrap around his waist.

"Just -- wait!" she breathed, slightly in pain from her rough handling earlier. Wincing, Bulma dropped her head against his shoulder as she clung to him. Tremors racked over her frame from the unbearable tension and need that coursed through her, and Vegeta could barely contain himself.

"Why do you have to be so fucking weak?" he groused, nearly in pain as he restrained himself from pumping in and out of her.

"Why do you have to be so fucking big?" she countered as she breathed heavily against him and squeezed her eyes shut.

A blush rose to his cheeks. Of course he knew that he was exceptionally endowed. That was essential to his line passing down their seed; but Bulma's (albeit irritated) compliment stroked his ego and purred to his manhood better than any other woman had. Her honesty stilled his impatient movement, though that cursed poison seared his veins.

Bulma wasn't thinking about her words at this point, and with a plaintive squeak she began to grind against him again as she let her lips drift against the jutting tendons of his neck.

With her arms twined about his shoulders and his hands clamped against her hips, the couple began to move into each other, building up a fury that burned the air around them. Bulma's breath caught in her throat at the phenomenal tug in her abdomen, and Vegeta huffed out grunts as he watched her figure in the mirror behind her. His eyes traveled down her tumbling hair that glinted in the light as she threw her head back and bared her neck to him. Instinctively, he latched his teeth onto her silken skin and nipped up and down. His eyes closed, savoring the heat and the alien softness.

Thrusting harder and faster, Vegeta pulled little squeaks of joy and pain from her chest, and when she thought she would explode from the intensity of his presence, he reared his head back and roared, exploding violently into her.

Bulma yelped as he shoved into her as deeply as he could, and her nails dug into his back as she clung weakly to him.

Opening his eyes even as he was still tensely clutching her, Vegeta looked over her shoulder to stare at himself in the mirror. The uncontrolled, flushed man staring back at him surprised the Prince. He had always commanded himself with perspective, forethought, and dignity, even in what appeared to be his wildest, most passionate moments.

This woman, though... this woman twisted him into something unrecognizable -- some other weak man who fell prey to his own desires and the supple flesh of an alien female.

Vegeta's brows knotted together. Her back was so smooth in the mirror, and he could see the faint outline of her spine as she leaned against him. Her alabaster skin nearly glowed in the light, and his hands looked dark and cruel against her, especially when he noted the blooming bruises beginning to form on her hips. They wouldn't be too noticeable, but all the same...

Bulma finally sat up and pulled away from him so that she could see his face properly. His eyes appeared to avoid hers, and Bulma suddenly felt a wash of feelings foreign to hers. Isolation and confusion -- she wasn't particularly confused herself, but suddenly she felt as though she were in someone else's head.

As his eyes finally met hers, a loud beep from the computer system interrupted her thoughts.

"_Inhabitable planet in reach. Two hours until touchdown."_

**A/N: So this definitely got more, uh, carnal than I anticipated. I'll try to get back to the next chapter sooner... Please review!**


	8. Alive

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

A/N: Who's up for a little adventure??

**Something in the Water**

________________________________

**Alive**

And so it was awkward.

Bulma and Vegeta looked at each other in surprise, and then there was a scramble of movement as he pulled away from her and she tumbled from the counter onto his chest again. The Saiyan growled, and the human snapped at him with her teeth before she snatched a towel off the hook behind him to wrap around her form.

Hobbling slightly and wincing at the oncoming soreness, Bulma raced to the control room to find out where they were heading, while Vegeta slowly made his way behind her. He had no desire to be too close to her again -- just in case...

With a stroke of the keys she was looking at a swirling purple planet.

"_Various life forms detected. Water source detected. Approximate weather conditions: winds ranging from twenty to sixty miles per hour. Sleet-like rain. Temperature at sixty-five degrees. Three hours till sundown."_

Bulma frowned. What exactly were various life forms?

Vegeta seemed to think the same thing. "If anything so much as looks at me the wrong way, I will reduce this entire galaxy to ash," he stated, arms crossed.

Glancing over her shoulder at him, Bulma earned a rosy blush. "Would it kill you to put on some clothes?"

"There is no shame in my nakedness," he drawled, a smirk sliding onto his lips. "You yourself have already conceded to my superior physique, so I cannot see why you wouldn't want to admire it for longer."

Rolling her eyes, Bulma shifted her focus to the window beyond the screen. "Humans tend to prefer some level of modesty when they hardly know each other, Vegeta," she sighed. "I wonder what things live there?"

Vegeta snorted. "That is none of your concern. Find the water source and leave."

"_We_ will find the water source," she corrected, flashing a smile at his expense.

Eyebrows snapping together, he replied, "I have training to do, imbecile. You got us into this predicament and you will correct it."

Bulma turned around with one hand on her hip and ignored his nakedness as she trained her narrowed eyes on his. "There's no way in hell that I'm about to wander onto a foreign planet by myself. For one thing, something will definitely try to eat me -- because that's what always happens -- and for another thing, you'll probably just try to fly the ship off without me!"

Vegeta's eyes glinted in the false light. "Perhaps. Sounds advantageous to me."

"Well you know what _I_ think sounds advantageous?" she snapped as she breezed past him, nose in the air, "Disconnecting the ship power supply before I leave."

"Bitch, I'm warning you --"

"Aren't I your mate or whatever?" she retorted, turning to grace him with a severe scowl.

Suddenly, it felt like the room was filled with ice. Vegeta's face darkened as his muscles tensed and his temple pulsed. "Do NOT take that lightly," he hissed, slowly moving towards her. Bulma's eyes widened in fear and surprise. "Threaten me with that again and I assure you that I will decimate all life forms on your pitiful planet the moment we return."

Bulma's face paled. Apparently, mating was a touchy subject. "Sorry," she breathed, her muscles tight. "But you have to come with me or I'm not getting off this ship."

Vegeta couldn't have himself leaving his GR every other minute to fuck the pitiful woman. With a surly frown he moved past her, leaving a wake of anger behind that seemed to touch her very bones. "It had better be quick."

Bulma nodded, even though he had already walked away from her. A shiver ran down her spine. Goodness, he could be creepy when needed... Like an echo to her thoughts, she noted a dark streak of dried blood dripping down his back. "Uh, hey --" she called after him, her curiosity piqued, "Were you bleeding?"

Vegeta turned to her with an irritated scowl. "_You_ were bleeding, moron."

Bulma glanced down at her finger in surprise. How could she have forgotten? A shiny pink line graced her finger where the cut had been. "It's... healed?" she queried, looking up at him in amazement.

Vegeta snorted. "Of course it is. You were sharing Saiyan energy."

Bulma's wide eyes took in his condescending demeanor, and then traveled down to his sculpted waist, down to his tiny navel, down, down...

"Don't cut yourself again," he admonished, noticing her wandering gaze. "Blood is quite... alluring... for Saiyans."

Bulma snapped out of it and blushed. There were still some funny side effects going on, she supposed. "Vegeta!" she called again as he began to turn away.

The Saiyan paused, ripples of agitation coursing down his back.

Bulma gulped, her throat uncomfortably dry again. "I'm worried," she admitted softly, clutching the towel tightly around her chest. "Landing on a foreign planet with barely an preparation at all..." Bulma trailed off, thinking about amorphous toxins, oversized bugs, and fang-tipped mouths.

"Hn," he replied, clearly pleased for some reason unknown to her, "And yet you willingly hop into bed with the most dangerous assassin in the universe without any prior information?" he sneered as his eyes glinted mockingly.

Drawing herself up, nose in the air, and feeling particularly stung, she snapped, "You have yet to take me to bed, _Prince._"

Vegeta guffawed harshly before he left her feeling much less like a princess and much more like an idiot.

_____________________________

"Um... I'm stuck."

Vegeta raised one royal eyebrow as he surveyed the land before him, ignoring the pestilential woman struggling in the muck. "This is a weak planet," he muttered, and Bulma sensed a far-off look in his eye that told her that not too long ago, that little statement would have heralded death.

She paused in her movements. Something about the way he stood and surveyed the area made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and despite her adventurous ways, she suddenly wanted to get the hell out of dodge and leave.

Dark eyes swung back in her direction. "Speaking of weak and pathetic..."

"Hey, buddy, you added that last one in there," she retorted as she resumed pulling her leg out of the lavender muck, but she couldn't be sure he heard her over the powerful wind that tore through her hair. Luckily, she had thought to pull it up in a high ponytail before she left.

From the open window of the ship they had watched the approach of the planet and donned their "adventuring" gear; rather, Bulma had pulled out a space biohazard suit that clung fiercely to her every curve, and Vegeta had pulled out his Saiyan armor... which also stuck to his every curve. Having fallen through a thick atmosphere of swirling purplish gases, they had landed on a flat plain of thick, lavender goo. About two hundred yards away sat what appeared to be a semblance of a forest, with thick, magenta bubbles situated on top of brittle-looking, blue sticks.

The two had been suspiciously quiet upon arrival.

Vegeta sulked at his having been dragged outside to this stupid, feminine planet, and Bulma was too worried to care. There was this nagging feeling at the pit of her stomach that something wasn't quite right.

Of course, the fact that firma terra was hidden beneath about a foot of thick goo didn't reassure her. All around them, massive bubbles churned sluggishly to the top and popped sickeningly; Vegeta, however, had yet to step off of the ramp, so Bulma was the only one struggling beneath the muck.

"I said I'M STUCK!" she repeated loudly, and Vegeta looked down at her incredulously.

"Why the hell do you suddenly think I'm deaf, woman?"

Blowing strands of aqua air out of her face, she replied, "If you don't get me out of here then _you're_ going to have to go scout for water yourself."

Vegeta looked away again to scan the skyline. "Why don't we simply fly the craft to wherever it senses water?"

"I'm not taking my ship somewhere where the ground might be unstable or where there might be dangerous aliens waiting to jump on it," she groused as she pulled her leg up using both hands.

"Dangerous aliens," he scoffed, shaking his head at her obscene lack of brains. "And here I was thinking _I_ was the dangerous alien."

Bulma made a face at him before she lifted her arms, like a baby to his parent. "Pull me up, Danger."

Nostrils flaring and canines glinting in the pink light, Vegeta growled as he took her beneath the arms and hauled her up to him effortlessly. Bulma thought that her feet might have been left behind in the muck and stumbled into him as he let her go. Looking up, she saw severe agitation in his eyes, and she immediately removed her hands from his plated chest.

"You've had your fun," he remarked, making sure to show displeasure on his face, "Now take this piece of shit to the nearest source."

"Her name is _Lydia_," Bulma countered as she swooped past him. "It's a lovely American name."

Glowering as he followed her up the ramp, he growled, "No way in HELL is my ship being named something so demeaning!"

"The next time you build a ship then _you_ can name it," she chided happily while the ramp slid up and the door closed behind them. "I think _Lydia_ is a perfect name for the Prince of All Saiyan's training ship."

Vegeta pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to remember why in the world he thought it would be a good idea to let her live.

Meanwhile, Bulma entered the flight code and coordinates for the supposed water source and they were off. "I think it's a pond of some sort," she mused, looking at the graphic data. "Maybe a hot spring..."

Vegeta couldn't have cared less, but soon enough they landed with a muffled thud, and Bulma turned off the power before she scampered back to ramp.

When she had first guilelessly jumped down off the ramp, the air had been windy with a sticky quality to it, but as the door slid open to reveal the planet again, Bulma could see a line of sleet-like substance advancing towards them.

"We'll have to hurry to dredge up the water," Bulma called behind her over the increasing wind. "We're just lucky that the ship strains its water for unnatural particles, so it'll be relatively clean."

"Why the hell couldn't it strain for that before?" he grouched as his keen eyes took in the scene again. If he had still had his tail, it would be ruffled at this point. Saiyans did not approve of bad weather, simply for irritation's sake. The blue water before them was a steaming pond, and Bulma had guessed correctly that it was a hot spring of some type. Shallow and splashing in the wind, the water spread widely over an area of two hundred squared feet, and it was odd to see that the lavender goo laid undisturbed and bubbling beneath the little waves.

Bulma looked back at her companion. "A-sim is a naturally occurring substance with tiny molecules. _Lydia_ will only strain for things that you might see with the naked eye."

Vegeta stepped towards the end of the ramp and knelt at the edge of the muck, his nostrils flaring at the sickly scent -- something akin to citrus and sweet pea. The air around them, though whipping about, was heavy and sticky like humidity, only... different. Acidic and insidious. He felt like he needed to take a long shower.

Politely tapping the Saiyan on the back, Bulma said loudly, "I'm ready to be carried!"

Vegeta blinked and stared up at her. "What?"

"Well I can't get through the mud," she continued with an indulgent smile, "So I'm going to need someone to help carry me -- unless you'd like to do it yourself, of course."

Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, Vegeta slowly stood up to glare down at the woman. "You will NOT presume to order the Prince of All Saiyans around, foolish Earth-woman!" he snarled, his eyes darkening.

Bulma frowned. "I'm not ordering anyone. I'm stating a fact. This won't get done unless you help me."

A vein in his forehead throbbed dangerously before Vegeta suddenly reached out a hand and blasted energy off into the nearby woods with a scream of fury.

Bulma had jumped back, and she stood away from him with wide eyes and a wary mouth. The "trees" had not burned, but rather popped loudly as they disintegrated. "Why'd you go and do that?" she yelled over the wind. "You don't know what's living here!"

In response, Vegeta thrust out his arms with a snarl on his face. "Fucking shut up or I'll dump you in there before we leave!"

Bulma generally knew when to stop.

With an odd clench in her stomach, Bulma took two steps to her savior before placing her hands tentatively on his pectorals. "You'll have to carry me wedding-style so I can reach up effectively," she stated as a blush rose to her cheeks.

Her simple touch had seared him and warmed him in ways he was unfamiliar with. He had the sudden urge to run his nose across her jaw to take in her unique scent of meadows and dappled light.

Bulma saw a blazing look in his eye that made her stomach clench with anticipation, but suddenly it passed as he literally swept her off her feet and jumped into the air.

Gasping at the unexpected movement, Bulma gasped, "A little warning next time? Now go under the ship -- you'll see the control cover in the middle."

Vegeta made no movement but stared at her darkly. She could feel every electric place where their bodies touched and her fingers fisted around the collar of his suit. Their faces were so close she could feel his breath...

"Fucking say please," he growled.

Bulma snapped out of her reverie and laughed. "Okay, _please_ take us under the ship, O wise and merciful Prince Vegeta!" she said playfully, and she took it as a compliment that he understood she was toying with him and not mocking him.

He swept beneath the ship and held her up to the control panel. As she pressed a few buttons and the metal sheath slipped open, Vegeta took the time to observe his little bundle of bones.

As she wrinkled her nose in distaste at the steady gusts of sticky wind, Bulma bit her bottom lip in concentration while she fiddled with the controls. He had never taken the time to watch her when she was engulfed in her work; he felt that if he peered into her face long enough he would begin to read the equations whizzing over her forehead.

Bulma felt a creeping heat travel up her spine, and after the nozzle had dropped down and begun to draw up the water into the tank, her eyes slid over to his to find him staring intently. Suddenly she felt self-conscious, and she dropped a hand to her cheek. "Did I -- Is there something on my face?" she asked in concern, and Vegeta saw her eyes flash with a peculiar shine.

He disliked being discovered, so his mouth twisted cruelly. "Just a shit-ton of ugly, that's all."

Bulma's brow converged into a scowl, and the creases at her lips deepened. "No wonder I'm the only one in the entire universe who can stand you, you stupid ape!" she hissed, eyes flashing.

Suddenly the wind was knocked from her chest as she found herself flying through the air until she slammed into the water twenty feet away from where the irate Saiyan levitated.

The only thought she had before she was pulled under was how peculiar the rain was.

Tendrils latched onto her body from every angle, and the moment she tried to scream her mouth filled with the treacherous liquid. Belatedly, as the thrashed about the goo and tried to swim to the top, she understood that the firm ground beneath the muck was a living thing -- that this planet was alive in a way Earth was not.

By that time, she had sunk down too far to even know which direction to swim.

Abruptly, her feet were no longer encased, then her legs, then her hips. Panic seized her as she realized that she was about to fall into an unknown abyss, and as her lungs burned with the lack of oxygen, her body let out a silent scream of terror.

The moment her face touched air again, Bulma wrenched open her eyes and coughed up the muck even as she began to drop. Legs kicking and arms wailing about, Bulma suddenly saw that she was in some sort of underground cave, because her feet touched something soft before the rest of her dropped onto it. As her eyes streamed tears of terror and goo, she tried to peer through the gloominess where she was.

Her trembling, pale hands roamed over the softness that she had landed on. Through the darkness, a soft, green glow began to emanate all around her, and it took her a few seconds to comprehend that it was coming from whatever she was currently sitting on. Even in her current state of panic it reminded her of the glowing green mushrooms of the nighttime earthen forests. All around her were translucent, opalescent green figures that seemed to morph into various shapes right before her eyes -- though many reminded her of bears.

Tentatively she looked down to find that the pearly, misty animal she sat on had begun to wind its mistiness up her wrists and feet, and as hard as she tried to wrench away it was no use.

"VEGETA!" she screamed as her eyes pulsed with her racing heart. She had no way of knowing if he could hear her -- or if he would even come to her -- but she had to stay alive as long as she could before he got to her.

Weeping loudly and sinking her fingers into the "flesh" of the animal, Bulma tried to rip it apart before a soft, hollow tone began to rise from the things around her. She paused, terrified that she had incurred the wrath of the entire alien planet in a matter of seconds.

The tone intensified. The note wavered in the air like a gull on the breeze, and abruptly it dipped and descended, rattling in her chest and head. Each second the tone grew louder and deeper, until Bulma thought that her brain was going to explode. She had never heard a noise so guttural, so deep, and so resounding, and the scientific part of her wondered if it was even within the human limits to understand it. Chest seizing and limbs quivering, Bulma thought she saw drops of blood slipping from her face to the being beneath her.

Yes, there was blood.

So _much_ blood.

It was pouring, splashing down from every orifice, clouding her vision and barely muffling the sound. Scarlet droplets began to ooze from her very pores, dripping from her scalp and arms. Bulma tried to scream, but her voice was lost in the rush of iron liquid that surged from her guts instead. Her brain was on fire, her heart was pounding through her ribs, her ears were exploding into the nothingness. She could no longer feel herself and she tried once more to call the name of the only man who could save her before her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

A limp body fell to the mist in the bowels of the alien planet.

**A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed! PLEASE give me feedback! It really helps me develop the story!**


	9. Release

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

A/N: I just realized that the title could mean so many things in this context... Thanks so much for all who reviewed! Your encouragement is very appreciated!

**Something in the Water**

**_______________________________**

**Release**

The Prince of All Saiyans sniffed, his nostrils flaring.

Yes, she was a curse.

As her flailing hand was pulled down into the muck, he watched Bulma in mild interest and wondered if she would be able to get herself out of this one. He probably shouldn't have thrown her with as much force as he did -- but no one insulted him and got away with it.

Muffled screeches reached his ears as he turned and looked up at the belly of the ship, noting that the tank was only half-filled. Vegeta crossed his arms and scowled. What if something went wrong with the mechanics?

A distant thought crossed his mind, and he staunchly ignored it.

If the woman wasn't there to fix it, he might not get off this blasted planet, or out of this wretched solar system.

The thought niggled at his brain again, whispering enough to make him swat the air as though he could push it away.

Of course, the traitorous idiot would not be happy to find that his 'best friend' had been eaten by a planet. Who the hell but her could get eaten by a planet? And what the hell kind of warrior had a 'best friend' anyway? Scowl deepening, Vegeta kicked at the water. The woman needn't be fraternizing with that buffoon anyway. After all, she _was _his m...

There. The thought had made its way into his consciousness.

Vegeta gritted his teeth as he instantly blasted away from his place beneath the ship and headed to the spot where she had been dragged under. Mother-fucking-shit-on-rice. He had to choose the _only_ idiot in the entire universe who had absolutely no sensibilities or fighting skills to be his mate.

Wanting nothing more than to rip his flaming hair out by the roots in frustration, Vegeta narrowed his eyes to appraise the situation. He could blast his way through, but that would probably kill the woman too. Cracking his neck, he gathered his ki about him like a second skin and dove into the muck arms first. With his ki propelling and protecting him, he could see that the tendrils were grasping at him from all sides, and a bare second later he pushed through to the dark emptiness below. The energy that the pulsing liquid emitted puzzled him, as it sent out bizarre waves of ki that seemed to attempt to permeate his own energy.

The scene below him sent ice through his veins.

Bulma writhed, choking and gurgling on the blood that surged from her throat. The misty, ameboid animals that surrounded her shackled her to their oozing hides, and Bulma strained her chest up towards the dark ceiling as she felt her lungs burn and expire, her bleeding eyes searching wildly for some escape.

Rage building up beneath his skin like a storm, Vegeta shot down to the thrashing damsel to release her from her encroaching tomb as he felt a burst of energy that seemed to consume his very soul.

Through the haze of blood Bulma saw a golden light even as she felt her pulse slow to a crawl... to a stop...

And then the darkness deepened.

Vegeta thought he could see through to her very bones as his hands reached out to pull her from the monsters beneath. There was too much blood for her to survive, he realized in a sudden panic, the foreign feeling flooding his mind like a toxin. Hastily he wrapped his arms around her frail chest and began to tug, but the moment he touched her his mind was sent spiraling as the alien ki invaded his own.

Vegeta gasped, his head burning as he nevertheless tugged her away, his arm straining with the effort. It occurred to him even in his torment that he was pulling against the entire earth -- the substance of the planet itself. The task was herculean; he gritted his teeth and screamed as the electrical pulse hammered through his brain and her blood soaked through her uniform and onto his. Her hair was entirely sopping as the scarlet liquid seeped from her pores down her aqua locks.

He couldn't move her -- couldn't pull her out -- and he was going to die with her.

Vegeta screamed at the unfairness of it all. His tendons constricted, his temple pulsed, his heels found purchase in the misty tendrils, and he stretched upwards with all his might as his body released unbidden energy that lit up the abyss, searing his vision.

Suddenly, he felt the release.

He was flying backwards into the air, catapulted by his own surge of ki. He unwittingly surged through the treacherous goo and back into the light of day. Tumbling through the air and gasping at his release, he felt the pelt of that sickly sweet sleet on his back; his mind returned to sanity; the burning ceased.

Vegeta stopped his motion in mid-air, abruptly aware of the limp body in his arms.

Pulling her away from his chest, Vegeta took in Bulma's appearance as his breath constricted. She was unbearably unrecognizable, her skin sunken in and her features obscured by crimson stains. There was no heartbeat.

In a wave of that unbidden panic, his energy cascaded from his chest as he pulled her to himself again, letting her head loll against his neck.

She couldn't be dead.

Vegeta ran his nose up the column of her neck, searching for her unique bouquet of life as he willed her pulse to return and her skin to rise.

She had to live.

His own pulse overwhelmed his thoughts as his lips brushed by the mark he had left on her, and without hesitation he brought his teeth to it again and sunk them into her skin. Blood spilled into his mouth -- blood cooler than his own -- and he could only respond by forcing his ki through her veins, attempting to burn her blood into life again. He wanted to heat her up to that fiery being that he remembered -- that woman who pulled long-extinct thoughts and urges from his body.

Vegeta closed his eyes, concentrating on lacing his ki with hers, willing his energy to reach her heart and shock it back to life. He was a Saiyan; if he could heal his own body, then he could certainly heal hers.

The sleet fell hard and fast, pelting down his back with a vengeance, and he instinctively bent over to shield her dripping body from the worst of it.

He felt the timid brush of eyelids against his shoulder.

Suddenly her pulse boomed into life, thundering through his ears as his energy connected with hers in the ancient tradition of mates. He could feel her body through his mind. Her mouth gaped open as the blood receded down her throat, and the inflation of her collapsed lungs wrenched a strangled scream from her chest even as her mind struggled to wake. Her fingers clenched in the air as her body burned alive, each drop of blood being forced back down, her marrow spinning into overdrive to replenish her.

The pain was unbearable, and her voice left her as she arched her back in a silent scream, her eyes finally ripping open to find his face looming above hers in triumph. The burn was torture; the pressure was infinite.

Finally it began to subside, and Bulma fell back against his chest gasping for air and trembling like a leaf. Vegeta held her up against his chest, feeling his own pulse settle and his energy snap back into his body again. Curiously, it felt like a door had shut over some part of his ki, and it unexpectedly made him feel as though he were missing something important.

Bulma shook against him, her mind in a torrent of thoughts as her eyes welled up with tears that washed the scarlet residue away. She couldn't process the pain. She couldn't understand the experience. For once in her life, her mind was too jumbled, and she had nothing to say.

Satisfied that she was safely returned to life, Vegeta scooped his arm behind her knees and hauled her up to him as he slowly descended to the ship again. Bulma was unresponsive as her head lolled against his chest, tears pouring down her cheeks and leaving trails in the blood on her skin.

As they reached the ship, Vegeta noted that the water siphon had returned to the ship and that the control panel had shut itself upon completion. Good thing too, since the woman was in no condition to complete the smallest of tasks.

He touched the pad and the door slid open, welcoming them out of the sleet into the warm interior of their makeshift home. As he looked down on the bundle in his arms, Vegeta walked them to their room and entered the bathroom. With a brush of the control pad he activated the shower, and then he finally let his eyes rest on the crown of her head.

Vegeta broke the silence. "You need to clean yourself," he rasped, moving into the stall to set her down.

Bulma nodded mutely, and she let her feet fall to the ground as he released her legs and retreated to the dry area. Without looking up at him, she sank weakly to the floor and huddled into the corner, where the faintest splashes of water could reach her. She slid her tongue behind her teeth, tasting and feeling the iron grit.

A stream of crimson dirt began to flow off the tips of her toes.

Vegeta watched with an alien feeling of helplessness as the ends of her hair curled and dipped with the weight of excess blood beginning to wash out. His temper began to simmer at her downcast look. "Take off that ridiculous outfit," he demanded, irritated at her lack of courage.

Bulma jumped at his harsh voice and sniffed as her nose began to run. Slowly, with trembling hands, she unzipped the zipper that ran from her collar down to her abdomen, and her cheeks reddened with humiliation at his hardened stare.

A sob broke through their silence, and Vegeta was startled and embarrassed to be privy to such raw emotion. His black eyes glanced aside as her suit blossomed open at the chest, revealing the soft sides of her breasts, and Bulma began to weep forcibly as she struggled to pull away the tight material.

She felt so embarrassed -- so rejected, so unsafe, so befouled.

She remembered clearly who cast her into that wasteland, who flippantly tossed her life away. He who relished in his own pain had no qualms with giving her a bitter taste.

The blood began to pool beneath her, and Vegeta watched in increasing agitation as she pulling one shoulder down and wept, trying fruitlessly to cover up her exposed breast. Finally he could take no more and he stepped beneath the water to kneel before her, reaching out to assist her.

Bulma's red-rimmed eyes flashed up at his startled gaze. "Get the fuck off me!" she screeched, gnashing her teeth like an animal as she recoiled from his touch into the wall.

Vegeta gaped at her. "You can barely sit up!" he protested, bewildered by her sudden madness.

"No!" she snarled, and she reached out to shove him away.

Catching her arms without difficulty, Vegeta made an executive decision and coldly swept her back into his arms. Standing with her screaming into his ear, he wrenched the tainted cloth down her back to her hips, and he felt her breasts bounce up to meet his chest. "You need to be cleaned," he murmured resolutely, ignoring her thrashing body.

"You animal! You heathen!" she seethed, her fingers forming into claws as she slashed at his back and shoulders.

Her fingernails were no match for his ki, and as he swiftly tugged her suit down to her knees, he replied, "If you don't quiet down then I will restrain you."

Bulma paused, her chest heaving with unsaid insults as her brain raced to a conclusion.

Then, as suddenly as she had started, Bulma let out a massive breath and slumped into his arms, sobbing softly like before.

Vegeta held her up, again taken aback by her abrupt mood swings. She hung limply against him, her knees buckled and her head lolling against his shoulder.

Without further ado, the Saiyan reached out to the wall to receive a handful of soap. Lathering up her smooth back, he ignored his first impulse to be aroused and concentrated on the color of her skin and the rivulets of blood that formed over her dainty muscles. "You're alive," he murmured suddenly, surprised at himself for responding to her emotional state. Hands circling her back and kneading her skin, Vegeta unconsciously soothed her like a small child. Later, Bulma would remember it.

He re-lathered his hands, delving them into her scalp as she tilted her head back, tears slipping out from the corner of her eyes to mingle with the iron on her cheeks. Vegeta grimaced at her weakness and finished her hair as fast as he could, trying to ignore its silkiness and its enticing length.

Then, completely emptying his mind, Vegeta turned her around in his arms to face away from him so that he could wash the front of her body. He closed his eyes, feeling her nose touch the base of his neck and the way her skin felt beneath his hardened fingers. Swiftly but gently, he moved his hands across her chest and stomach, dipping into the crevice of her naval. Gliding to her thighs and buttocks, he tried to think about the way she looked beneath the surface of the planet, writhing and screaming in pain, but it was no use. She had writhed beneath him, too.

With resignation he felt his member stiffen unbearably in his suit, and he gritted his teeth as he did the impossible: With a feather-light touch, he let one hand dive between her legs and barely wipe her clean, brushing along the outer rim of her core. His hand retreated, letting the water pour down in its place before he let it slide one last time to smooth away the lingering residue.

Bulma felt her cheeks grow warm despite the tears that flowed over them. She had been able to ignore his hands across the rest of her body -- too far gone in her dark abyss of self-pity -- but his strong, virile hand dipping into her nether area was too much. The second time he reached down she cried out, a mix between a yell and a sob, as her hands leapt up to catch his wrist.

The two of them froze, breathing the hot fog around them. His hand stayed cupped over her labia while she clutched desperately at his arm, neither holding him there nor pulling him away. She could feel the bend of his manhood thrusting up urgently against her buttocks, and though she could barely stand from shock and exhaustion she suddenly felt that indescribable pull in her hips.

There was too much tension to bear as she stiffly leant against him; with a heavy sigh he brought his hand up against her womanhood, cupping it firmly but gently as though his hand were just another article of clothing as he held her against him. Without a word he let her know that he had no intentions of seducing her.

Finally letting go of a pent-up breath, she relaxed into him, and he in turn released her core as he reached over to turn off the water.

A towel dropped from the ceiling, and he wrapped it around her frail form before he swept her into his arms again. Dripping everywhere, he nonetheless carried her into the bedroom and sat her down on the bed before he turned away and returned to the bathroom, resolutely snapping the door shut behind him.

Fifteen minutes later, when he reopened the door with a white fluffy towel draped around his hips, Vegeta narrowed his eyes at the woman on the bed. The most she had done for herself was to discard the towel and reach over to pull one of his loose shirts out of his drawer.

There she sat, the shirt hanging off one shoulder as she stared dejectedly at the floor, and he highly suspected that she wore no underwear.

His manhood agreed with him and twitched. He had spent ten minutes in the shower scraping off residual blood and trying to calm down his racing sexual drive.

Apparently, that was a big fail on his part.

"Where are your clothes?" he barked, and Bulma jumped at his harsh voice.

"I'm tired," she squeaked, averting her eyes, and her hair tumbled across her back in tangles.

Vegeta rolled his eyes, cursing the entire human race as he crossed to the bedside table to pick up her brush. Tossing it to her on his way to his chest of drawers, he shuffled through them till he found a pair of boxers. With a flick of his wrist he dropped the towel and jumped into his shorts.

Bulma glanced at the brush beside her thigh as he turned around. "I'm tired," she repeated, and made no move to lay down or pick up the brush.

Vegeta's eye twitched in impatience. "Lights off," he said, and the room was plunged into darkness. "Window open," he continued, and the wall behind where the headboard should have been slid away to reveal a lengthy window. Space floated lazily by. On the bright side, he had been able to send them back into space through the mini-control panel in the bathroom. On the down side, he had not been able to speed it up past crawl-speed, and he doubted at this point that the woman would be useful tonight.

Let them be, then. He had plenty of time to train.

But tonight, he would sleep. He was exhausted, and so was she. Bulma sat silently on the end of the bed, and Vegeta sighed inwardly at her resistance to being normal. He had come to the conclusion that her near-death might have been his fault, but really -- couldn't she suck it up? Slug-earth-bear-killers weren't nearly as horrifying as what Frieza did to his minions on the weekends.

His hair stood on end, and he banished the thoughts as soon as they came. "Lay down," he commanded as he came to stand by her. Bulma looked up at him, and for the first time that night he saw her jaw square off in hatred.

A smirk crawled across his lips. She would be alright in the end.

"Lay down," he repeated, flinging the covers back behind her as an open invitation for sleep.

Bulma's eyes darted to his but softened in weakness as a strange sadness and weakness washed over her again. Shoulders slumping pitifully, she slowly crawled to the empty pillow and plunged into the down mattress.

Vegeta gritted his teeth and counted back to ten as he moved to the other side to lay down. Indeed, she wore no underwear.

It might be a long night.

**A/N: I'm thinking this scene goes a little longer, too. Sorry it took so long! I really appreciated all the reviews! Please continue to aid and abet me!**


	10. Remedy

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

**Something in the Water**

* * *

**Remedy**

Laying on her side, her hair curling and still vaguely damp, Bulma stared at the dip between the Saiyan's shoulder blades and the way the muscles crossed over them. A nearby planet emitted a soft glow like that of moonlight, and everything was bathed in a hazy purple hue, including the silvery scars that adorned his proud shoulders and back.

Her nose itched, but she refused to scratch it for fear of waking him. Sometimes she thought that he could hear her blink, but the slow rise and fall of his chest seemed to say otherwise.

How had he gotten those scars? They looked smooth and level, not raised or bubbly like other fighters, not recessed and jagged like Yamcha's had been. She realized that she hadn't noticed them when she had clung to him for dear life during sex.

Bulma blushed as her eyes trailed down his spine. No, they hadn't been noticeable, but now she had the overwhelming urge to trace each and every one with her nimble fingers and soothe them away, or at least memorize their placement.

Why was she thinking this way? Hours ago she had been mad enough to rip out his eyes for the fact that he basically flung her to the wolves; now all she wanted to do was curl into his side and feel safe again.

...Vegeta made her feel safe?

Well it wasn't as though he hadn't come to her rescue. She recalled flashes of pain on his face, bulging tendons, and the suffering in his voice. He had sacrificed himself for her on some level. Refusing to let those memories wash over her again, Bulma turned her thoughts to the way he had held her as he cleaned her in the shower. Who knew he could be so gentle? He had cradled her like a child, rubbing comforting circles into her skin. She had the sense that he had been simply doing what he thought was correct, not actually trying to make her feel better, but still. Anything from Vegeta that didn't involve swearing and blowing things up was a miracle.

And here he was, lying in bed with her. He hadn't even protested. Maybe he had forgotten their little deal about her rearranging her sleeping habits; maybe he thought it was unnecessary after they had had sex twice; maybe he kind of liked her.

Bulma nearly snorted to herself. He may enjoy having sex with her -- if that -- but Vegeta most certainly didn't _like_ anyone. The most she could say was that he merely tolerated her presence more than others'.

As the ship moved through space, the light began to filter out, and in a few moments Bulma was plunged into a much deeper darkness, without the benefit of the lavender moon.

The frail human shivered, her hair standing on end. Images from that day flooded her mind, and she struggled to stay on top of it. Shivering moved to shaking, and Bulma couldn't stop the little tremors that wracked her chest.

Through the darkness she saw the edge of his shoulder stiffen. He was awake.

Guiltily, she peered up as he rolled over, the whites of his eyes barely showing in the dark. She knew the disgruntled look that would be on his lips, and as her eyes adjusted she began to see it.

He lay on his side facing her now, eyes sizing her up. His mind slowly awakened as his Saiyan sensed took in an overload of information, and he recalled the afternoon before. He couldn't have been asleep but for three or so hours. Swallowing to relieve the dryness of his throat, Vegeta finally said hoarsely, "Did you even go to sleep?"

Still shaking and blushing in the darkness, Bulma whispered out a strangled 'no' as she locked her eyes to his chest.

Evaluating her for a moment, noting the temperature of the room, and deciding that she was shivering from a mental state rather than a need for heat, Vegeta grunted and rolled back over, putting his back to her again as he closed his eyes.

Bulma's mouth dropped open at his disregard for her, and she couldn't decide whether to sock him in the shoulder or to beg for his attention. She knew he had no interest in comforting her, but she felt like... maybe... he would understand.

Feeling her heart pounding in her chest, Bulma took a chance and inched closer to him until her breath fanned his nape.

Vegeta's eyes popped open as he felt her move, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when her silky fingers slid up between his shoulder blades. He opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him: "Vegeta," she whispered, feeling his muscles tense unbearably beneath her unexpected touch, "You've died before."

She hadn't thought that his shoulders could get any tighter. "What the fuck do you want?" he hissed, hunching over to show his displeasure even though her touch was utterly electrical to him.

Bulma Briefs was not so easily deterred. "Something in me hurts that I can't -- I can't even explain -- that I didn't know was there," she breathed, her fingers curling against his bronze skin, "And you... you know, don't you? There's that irrepressible urge to scream, but you don't know what for because you're alive but -- who knows? In the next second you could be -- And all that, that pain..."

Bulma trailed off as tears welled up in her eyes. She gulped, encouraged by the fact that he hadn't yet admonished her. Vegeta, in fact, was staring wildly around, listening intently to every word she spoke. He had always thought her an insipid idiot, but perhaps... perhaps there was more than he supposed if she could understand...

"You saw the darkness," she continued softly, her breath brushing his skin and spreading warmth, "But the real darkness, when you can't breath and your eyes are open but you can't see... That horrible pulling sensation in your chest as you fall away from yourself... I can't -- I don't ever want to feel that again."

Vegeta cringed as he heard a strangled sob escape from her chest, and her hand pressed firmly into his back.

The words tumbled out of her mouth. "I can't sleep because I'm afraid I won't wake up -- or I'll be dreaming of everything all over again. I can't do it... I can't..." Gulping, Bulma felt a tear drip down her nose. "Why did you do that to me?" she whispered, barely audible in her pain.

Something felt tangled and crushed in his chest, and Vegeta realized in horror that he felt guilty. "I didn't -- that was not intentional," he muttered, embarrassed as his eyes stared down at his pillow.

It was a minute or so before she spoke again, and Vegeta had to restrain himself from turning over and shaking her as she whispered:

"But you came to save me."

Eyes widening, Vegeta sat silently in anticipation of her next words.

Bulma watched his back, seeing his chest expand in what she recognized as concentration as he held his breath. So he was listening? She smiled wryly as her tears began to cease. Sniffling, she pressed her face into his lower shoulder and felt him jump. "Some freaky knight in shining armor you are," she chuckled morbidly.

Vegeta froze, unsure of what to do. Unbridled viciousness or passion he could deal with, but gentility was completely out of his realm.

Bulma rubbed her nose against his skin, smelling his masculine sweat and feeling that sense of safety and comfort seep into her very bones. This was what she needed: to be sure of her place and curled next to the baddest man in all the galaxies. No one and nothing could touch her here, and she slid both hands up to clutch his shoulders.

Flames licked down his abdomen as she cuddled into his back, and suddenly he felt like he couldn't contain himself. The Prince of all Saiyans didn't have very many outlets for his emotions.

In a flash she found herself pinned beneath him as he leaned over her and peered questioningly into her face, and her mouth popped open into a little 'O' in surprise. "What do you want?" he groused, eyebrows snapping together in confusion.

Thankfully, Bulma recognized his befuddlement at her affectionate moves. "I -- I don't know," she whispered back, feeling the pleasant weight of his hips on hers. "But I feel... okay... close to you."

Vegeta didn't respond, but his eyes roved over her face.

Bulma lifted herself up on her elbows so that her face was a mere inch or so from his. "You just -- you just settle down that part of me that hurts so much," she confessed, her gaze dropping to his lips. "And I don't even know why. I mean, you pretty much insult me constantly..."

Her eyes met his again as she heard his breath slip heavily from his lips. Dark and perceptive, his gaze settled on her unwaveringly, and she could literally feel him judging her worth.

"But if you make me feel safe," she continued, eyes returning to his mouth again as she got the barest bit closer to him, "I mean, I'll do anything to be okay again... and if you're the key..."

Vegeta felt his stomach drop out as she lifted her face, letting the side of her nose brush his.

"Then I'm good with that," she breathed before she barely let her lips brush across his, petal-soft skin sliding over his mouth.

Vegeta leaned frozen above her as she taunted him, as she breathed into his mouth and seemed to suck out his very soul.

Damn succubus.

He let her work her magic, and as the seconds ticked by she grew bolder. No longer fearing his rejection, she pressed her mouth to his, slowly moving her lips to open him up.

Fire burned in his groin as she kissed him, and as he calculated her intentions he began to barely move his lips in sync with her.

Bulma felt like she was slowly drawing the surly Saiyan out of his shell, and suppressing a smile she pushed her breasts up against his chest. Leaning on one elbow she let her other hand glide up his arm and onto his shoulder, clutching and flexing as she took time to enjoy the muscles beneath. After hours of tossing and turning, she felt at peace and safe. Who knew Vegeta would do the trick?

Vegeta continued to hardly participate, being the suspicious man that he was, and Bulma eventually pulled away to peer into his face. "You know, seven hours ago you were all about the physical," she teased gently, brushing her nose across his cheek before she dropped back to the bed.

Blue eyes sparkled up at onyx ones, and Vegeta frowned at his predicament. He would really enjoy fucking her, but he felt like there was some sort of trap being laid.

Bulma watched the thoughts flicker across his stony face in the dark, and she let one comforting hand wander up his chest to his clavicle. "You said I'm your mate, and that that's important," she commented, watching where her fingers touched. "I just want to be near you," she added with a blush, and she couldn't look into his eyes.

Vegeta felt astonishment creep up on him. He hadn't realized that she was willing to take her place as his mate. Sudden thoughts of procreation and aristocracy rules danced in his head, and he frowned above her. He supposed, under the circumstances, being that humans were the only Saiyan-like creatures that seemed to breed effectively, Bulma was an optimal choice for it. Funny that he hadn't truly thought about it before.

He brought his thoughts back to the present as he stared down at her embarrassed figure. Obviously, she was expecting some sort of admonishment or rejection. Smirking, he lowered himself onto his forearms, settling his weight on her body and letting his hips dig into hers. Bulma's eyes snapped to his in surprise.

Vegeta's canines glittered, feral in the darkness. "You may be near me, Earth-woman, if you are willing to face the consequences," he rumbled, waiting for her reply.

Bulma took shallow breaths, her head getting light with adrenalin. "Consequences?" she squeaked, her hands clenching at the sides of her head like she was held captive.

Vegeta smirked, watching her face flicker with emotion. "Perhaps that was an inaccurate definition," he purred, and Bulma's hair stood on end. Vegeta had never been persuasive before, only demanding or rough. She couldn't imagine the devastating effect he would have if he actually _tried_ to seduce someone. "Perhaps," he continued, "I should say, if you are willing to take the responsibility that comes with it."

Bulma gazed up into his eyes fearfully. What was he going to come up with now?

Chuckling darkly at her reaction, Vegeta lowered his head to hers. "Are you willing?" he asked again, letting his deep voice slide over her like velvet, and Bulma shivered.

"Yes," she whispered, not knowing whether he was going to enslave her for the rest of her life or ravage her there.

Vegeta did both.

With a grunt of satisfaction he dropped his mouth to hers and slid over her lips as one hand snaked up behind her head and one knee made its way between her legs.

Pleasantly surprised, Bulma felt her body ignite with fire as he softly kissed her, and he seemed to indulge himself in her taste, not just conquer her.

Indeed, Vegeta reveled in her breath as he opened her mouth and let his tongue brush hers. The past two times had been heady and fast, only for the carnal need and not particularly based on attraction, but this -- this was different. He hadn't been with a woman this way... ever. Her previous gentleness had sparked something in him that made him want to pull her into his chest and protect her, and it amazed him that he was actually... mating.

Bulma made the barest moan as she pressed up against his chest, arching her spine so that everywhere he was, she could be. Vegeta deepened the kiss, pressing his mouth tightly against hers as his tongue began to dance with hers, and Bulma started to feel lightheaded from her lack of breath. Moments later she clutched his shoulders and tore her mouth away, panting in excitement, and Vegeta took the opportunity to explore the column of her neck with his lips.

Nipping and teasing his way down her throat, the Saiyan rumbled in appreciation of her soft skin. His own Saiyan hide was thick and smooth, but hers was thin and silken. Though it was dark, he could see her little blue veins criss-crossing underneath her skin, and he marveled at the delicacy with which the fragile human was made.

Bulma squeaked in anticipation, her legs beginning to tremble with need and feeling her womanhood begin to weep. Vegeta leaned up over her and smirked down at her surprised face. "Here I was thinking you'd be practically useless," he remarked, and before she could respond he whipped her shirt off over her head. Pert breasts bounced in the starlight, and Vegeta's face fell into one of deep concentration as he took a good look at her.

"I'd like to think that _you're_ being useful to _me_," she purred, watching his hungry eyes devour her figure.

Vegeta spared her a waspish glance. "You're just lucky you're stuck on this ship with me," he retorted as one hand glided up her stomach to cup her breast, smoothing around it like it might break.

Letting out a pent-up breath, Bulma squirmed in anticipation. "I would have -- ahhh -- found someone else to do the trick back home!" she gasped as his mouth closed over one firm nipple.

Vegeta snapped his head back up and snarled, yanking her hip up against his. "_No one_ could sate you as I can," he hissed, eyes darkening menacingly. "You are _mine_ now, and don't forget it!"

Again, before she could get a word in he slammed his mouth over hers, grinding into her wet core and feeling the material of his shorts between them.

Bulma blinked, feeling utterly owned and dominated by the Saiyan as he ravaged her mouth. Thoughts flashed through her head at his sudden territoriality. He had some nerve to treat her like property! But still... it was kind of hot for him to be so possessive. Plus, it was true enough that he really owned nothing in this world -- only the scrap of suit that he had left from Namek, and she doubted that even that had belonged to him in the first place. Would she begrudge him a shred of pride that told him that she would not stray?

Finally he released her mouth, breathing deeply and staring down into her eyes. Bulma could feel his simmering anger, as well as a discomfort that she realized (and highly doubted that he understood) was rejection.

So she did the only thing a real woman could do.

With a sweet, genteel smile, she reached her arm up around his neck and leaned up to press her lips gently but firmly to his. Pulling away after a brief second, she whispered, "You're not forgettable, Vegeta."

His chest swelled as he watched her fall back to the bed. He felt so... virile.

In a flash, he was back nipping at her neck as one hand slid down her stomach to venture between her delicate folds. Between her gasps, he rumbled, "You'll never be able to fuck anyone else after me, Bulma."

The human agreed, whimpering and panting as one of his digits massaged her clit. Her fingers trembled and turned white at the knuckles as she drove her hands into his hair and clenched his roots. "Oh -- Ve -- Ve --"

He smirked when she couldn't even manage to gasp his name. He tortured her a few more moments before he let her go and sat up to take off his shorts.

Bulma lay prone on the bed before she gathered her wits and sat up on her haunches behind him, watching as his manhood sprang into view when his shorts dropped around his ankles. Hungrily she pressed her breasts to his taut back and wrapped her arms around his torso as she leaned in to grasp his cock.

Vegeta hissed in mild surprise as her hands closed over him, tauntingly massing the tip before they dropped down to envelop his shaft.

"Fun fact," she drawled as his fists clenched in the covers at his side, "You're the biggest I've ever had."

Adrenalin pumped through his veins at her words, and he couldn't take it any longer. With a predatory snarl he flipped around and pushed her on her back before he shoved his knees between hers.

Bulma half-laughed, half-shrieked as she fell back against the pillow and felt the cool air reach her core. Vegeta smirked at her playfulness as he leaned over her, letting his manhood brush the aqua curls at her hips. "You're the best fuck I've ever had," he stated dryly, Bulma smiled up at him. That was a regular declaration of love from the Saiyan.

Lifting her legs to his hips, she wrapped them around him and let her arms climb onto his shoulders. She could feel his shaft pressing firmly against her entrance, and she blushed up in excitement at his face.

Vegeta watched her cooly for a moment before he reached down to guide himself into her, and with a grunt of satisfaction he shoved himself in, earning a moan of surprise from the human.

Bulma could feel that peculiar energy pulsing in and out of her suddenly, and she knew that he was taking care of her. Keening as he began to pull in and out, Bulma wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him to her chest.

Vegeta acquiesced, laying atop her as he increased his speed, grunting in her ear as she clenched her hands through his hair once more. The human seemed to like having as much physical contact as possible, and he wouldn't deny the woman that particular comfort.

As she breathed in and out, her voice began to waver and fade, and after a few moments she was dry-screaming into the cold air around them. Vegeta smirked to himself as he sat up, pulling out of her briefly so that he could pull her upright and turn her around. Surprised, Bulma grabbed the headboard as he grasped her hips and slammed into her again, letting his chest dip and brush against her back. Bulma whimpered, feeling him go deeper than he had as he let one hand drift to her clit and massage it.

Bulma began to scream, hoarse from her breathing, as each thrust pushed the air from her lungs. Heavy waves began to build up in her hips as she moved closer and closer to her climax.

Gritting his teeth at the amazing pressure building, Vegeta increased his speed until he could barely hear her breathe.

"Veg -- E -- Ta!" she tried to say as he mercilessly drilled in and out. "I'm com -- I'm com --"

But he felt her tense up and shake violently as her release came and she screamed his name. Her walls tightened around him, and he gasped as his own came swiftly behind.

Bulma squeaked, suddenly sensitive as he made one final push into her and stilled. With heaving breaths, he leaned over her figure and grasped her to himself, dropping his chin against her shoulder as he pulled her stomach and chest towards his.

Panting and trembling with weakness, Bulma sagged in his arms until he let her sink to the bed again, careful to keep his manhood nestled within her.

Neither had the energy nor the desire to speak as they sank down into the pillows, with Vegeta spooning against her back. He could feel himself getting smaller, but he liked being in her... and Bulma was content to let him be so close.

Minutes later, his hand drifted up onto her hip as he nosed her hair, relishing in her softness and her sweet smell as he unconsciously massaged her hip. Bulma smiled, suddenly felt quite warm and safe.

She could only hope that all emotional remedies could be this exhausting.

**A/N: So there's the nitty-gritty. We'll see where it goes from here... maybe... if you review!**


	11. Untouched

A/N: Hellooooo there long lost readers! I apologize for the appalling lateness. Or hiatus. Or whatever. Thanks for giving this another look!

Disclaimer: All things associated with Dragon Ball Z belong solely to Akira Toriyama.

**Something in the Water**

**

* * *

**

**Untouched**

Bulma frowned and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "I think the appropriate phrase to use here is 'HELL NO,' Vegeta."

"And in reply, I'd say 'Well too fucking bad,'" he sneered as he zeroed in on the incoming planet. "Saiyans are not meant to be kept in a piece-of-shit ship for months on end."

"Yeah, cause they'd fit much better in a cage in a zoo."

Snapping his head around to glare at her, Vegeta snorted through his nostrils. The bitch had a particularly waspish attitude about visiting the yellow planet. "If you'd like to keep that tongue of yours in your head then you'd best keep your thoughts to yourself," he growled.

Having expected a much more offensive reply, Bulma let the edge of her mouth turn up as she slid a hand up his back. "Don't rip it out too soon, Prince," she coohed. "You haven't even had a chance to experience it properly." To make her point, the blue haired woman leaned in to flick the edge of his ear with her tongue.

Vegeta held back the urge to squirm away. "Perhaps there's time for that soon enough," he replied, turning to catch her waist in his hands as she batted her lashes up at his countenance, "But on this I insist, Bulma."

"Unghhhh..." she groaned as her head flopped against his chest. "I'm NOT okay with visiting all these foreign planets that literally want to eat you up!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "I have only ever been to two planets in my lifespan that have been physically aggressive. You just so happened to experience one as well - "

"And I'm in no mood to experience one again," she snapped.

A muscle twitched in his jaw as he lightly shoved her away. "You're insufferable," he groused as he made his way down the hall. "Stay on the fucking ship then for all I care, because I have no desire to be near your infectious idiocy any time soon."

"FINE!" she yelled at his back, her nails screeching against the metallic counter. "Don't come to _me_ the next time you're feeling 'lonely' then!" She took a gulp of air, realizing his complete dismissal of her as he disappeared into the gravity chamber. "And STAY OUT OF MY BED!"

The hum of the GR drowned out her curses.

* * *

Bulma narrowed her eyes at the sight of the Saiyan jumping nimbly to the ground. It had been nearly two days since she'd seen him last, and it appeared as though it didn't bother him in the least. _I suppose that makes sense_, she groused to herself, running her tongue over her teeth, _He did perfectly well without my presence before we left. Apparently it's no different now._ Had she been in a Western film, this would have been the moment in which she leaned over and spit a wad of chew into a spittoon while contemplating her next surreptitious move.

She looked on out the window at him as he paused, letting his hands graze through the waist-high grass. Rolling and craggy like a peach pit, the land disappeared shortly over a nearby crest, and Bulma would lose sight of her prey in a matter of minutes if he continued to amble straight ahead.

Though Vegeta rarely ambled.

With an unexpected blaze of ki surrounding him, Vegeta blasted off the ground into the horizon, leaving rippling waves of the yellow grass behind him and Bulma to vaguely wonder about the texture of the grass, as it seemed to float softly above the ground at his disturbance, rather like a patch of seaweed would float in the water. It looked so silken - like the fur of a cat or pulled-apart cotton, but the yellow grass seemed to stand up quite well against the 1.25 x Earth's gravity.

Bulma sniffed distastefully at the thought. It wasn't as though she was a stupid, thick-hided Saiyan and could venture out into whatever conditioned he was able to. Even if she _wanted_ to follow...

Snapping her head around as she turned back to the navigations area, Bulma dismissed the thought. No Briefs heiress would be caught _dead_ following some idiotic man like a puppy...

But a day and a half later, with no signs of the petulant Saiyan having ever returned, Bulma began to eat her words. How could he be out there for that long without needing to come back for food? ...or to bathe... Bulma chewed on the edge of her cuticle as she perused her box of capsules, searching for her air bike. Cabin fever had set her temperament on edge; a mixture between the lack of company and the glinting sunlight off the rippling golden field was getting to her. Plus, she couldn't see far past that damn hill, and it felt like the planet's limits were calling to her.

Still... she shivered at the memories from the last foreign planet she had stepped out on. If Vegeta hadn't come back, surely it was from his own querulous irritation with her and his stubborn refusal to live without killing himself via training on a daily basis. Surely he was fine. Surely.

Air bike in hand along with various other capsules including (but not limited to) a portable house, a bikini, and a barbeque grill, Bulma strapped an impressive yet light-weight laser gun on her hip. Her cyan eyes scanned the view outside the window for any hint of danger as she breathed in deep. Hopefully she would be able to withstand the extra .25 Gs. If not, she'd just flip the switch on her snow-white gravity suit. Bulma frowned as she plucked at the spandex-like material coating her body.

This time in space better not have added any pounds to her frame, or someone was going to have to suffer.

Moments later she stood on the platform, her chest rising and falling heavily with the extra strain. Blinking at the sunlight above, she grimaced at the unexpected chill of the wind while shouldering her scouting backpack that now felt as though she had piled it full of bricks instead of capsules.

"Alright, Vegeta, here I come," she muttered as she tramped down the ramp in slow motion. Like a swimmer in a pool full of pudding, she felt sluggish and out of sync with the world. Even her braided hair resting against her shoulder seemed like a hand pressing her towards the ground. Bulma frowned.

Within minutes, her air bike was gleaming in the bright sunlight as she dragged one leg over the seat. The blue-haired genius pushed the ignition and the motor roared to life beneath her thighs before she kicked off into the distance.

Blades of shimmering gold whipped by as the air bike blew through the fields of the mysterious planet, and Bulma stretched out her fingers to flit through the tendrils as they wafted by, dancing in the wind like algea in the ocean. For nearly twenty minutes she zoomed through the fields as she relished the feeling of sun on her face; to breathe in the crisp air and feel the blush return to her cheeks... It felt like the beginnings of fall on Earth, and suddenly a pang of homesickness hit her.

The feeling, however, was short-lived as she crested over another hill to find herself at the top of a slope that stretched thousands of feet ahead of her in rippling grass before it met a shimmering, teal lake. Bulma slid the bike to a quick stop as she gasped and took in the sight. The body of water was massive, but she could clearly see huge mountainous crags on the other side, and it seemed as though the lake marked a change in the landscape of the planet.

"How can this place be so untouched?" she wondered aloud as a grin bloomed on her face. Far down the slope she could see the clarity of the seemingly-motionless water, and it appeared as though the lake was deeper than she had originally thought. Bulma took in her immediate surroundings. To the left the lake went on into the horizon, possibly for miles, but to the right the golden plains stretched on, and creatures that resembled sheep on stilts with elongated necks grazed across the land, looking as tenuous as the grass itself. Unconcerned after having watched a herd of them from the spaceship window, Bulma merely whistled at them like they were old friends before she turned back to her personal task at hand.

Within another ten minutes she had arrived at the edge of the lake, put away her bike, and brought out her bikini, towel, and picnic set. (The punctuated blasts of the capsules had in fact roused the feeding herd into a panic and set them running in the opposite direction.) Bulma glanced around, momentarily nervous, as she contemplated changing out of her exploration gear into the strapless, salmon-colored, ruffled bikini. It seemed as though not a single other soul resided on the planet but herself - Bulma's nose wrinkled - and a certain missing Saiyan who would go unnamed and ignored.

Deeming the coast clear, she shrugged off her gun and unzipped each zipper on her suit, allowing her appendages to be released quickly, before she tugged on and slipped into her bikini. The effort left her panting and sweating despite the cool wind, and Bulma was eager to flop down onto her oversized beach towel that laid atop the grass at the shoreline.

And so, bikini ruffles blowing in the wind, sunglasses over her eyes, and all thoughts banished from her mind, Bulma gave herself over to the arduous art of tanning.

* * *

Vegeta, on the other hand, had a wayward mind that never gave him a moment's rest. With beads of sweat coursing down his body, streaking his face with mud from the dirt that had settled there, Vegeta dropped to one knee and spat viciously into the ground as he glared at the horizon. She was always plaguing him, no matter how far he strayed from her presence. The prince supposed it was a genetic quirk - a fail safe for his bloodline that forced an unnatural bond into the mating relationship - that caused his unexpected fixation on the woman, but he couldn't be sure if something else had tainted the water to make him act so strangely. A ghost of a smirk passed over his face at his own personal joke.

He knew she was fine. She had to be. The life forms on this planet were negligible, and unless she had gone and knocked her own head off with a wrench or something she should still be alive and screeching.

Not that he cared terribly.

His usual frown intensified. He couldn't remember the last time he actually gave a shit enough about another person to take the time to _think_ about their relationship to one another. Perhaps when he had killed Nappa he had thought about the ramifications of it later, but not in any great detail. It just didn't matter.

Most of his intellectual efforts had gone into memorizing battle strategies, strengthening grudges, and assimilating his galactic knowledge, not focusing on extra-curricular activities like fucking. That was a side treat, like getting a potato with your steak: Not necessary, just good for morale.

Four days ago he had slept with the woman, woken up, and stolen into the gravity chamber for hours on end until they had landed on the planet. Unlike the woman, Vegeta couldn't simply drop his attitude and make a 180 turn; whereas she apparently had decided to cater to his whims, Vegeta needed time to contemplate his decisions, mostly because of his lack of experience in that area.

How much of a so-called human relationship was he willing to put up with? Vegeta coughed up a cloud of dirt as he stood and faced the sun, feeling its rays soak into his bronzed skin. 1) He wanted to fuck. Whenever. Wherever. On his terms. 2) No whining. He had watched the woman with that scar-faced pussy long enough to see that she had the uncanny ability to guilt him into doing whatever she saw fit, and there was no way in hell Vegeta was going to get caught up in that. Ergo, the less contact between fucking, the better. 3) He wanted her to himself. He supposed that, under the circumstances, they were linked together, and he wanted it to stay that way. If that meant owning her beneath the sheets and acquiescing to some of her lesser emotional needs, then so be it.

Letting a gust of air out, Vegeta relaxed his shoulders. He felt ready. The past two days of relative relaxation had calmed his frayed nerves and enhanced his feeling of security over his life. He would ascend, he would defeat Kakarrot and those metallic idiots, and then... take over the universe?

A pang of uneasiness wormed its way into his stomach. Never before had his actual future loomed without a real purpose. Until the past few months he had been preoccupied with defeating Frieza, but the futuristic boy had taken care of that particular obstacle for him. Before that, the sum of his desires was to dethrone the lizard bitch and usurp his entire galactic kingdom, but now...

He just couldn't see it. That was what was so unnerving to the prince. He couldn't see how to regroup past the androids. _And what about Bulma?_ part of him wondered, while the other half sneered in contempt. He would need a queen, but something in his gut whispered that, although she certainly strove to dominate the characters in her life, it wasn't the same type of domination synonymous with intergalactic rulership.

Belly churning uncomfortably at the thought, Vegeta quelled his mind with a shake of his head. Those things would be addressed when the time came, and the only time at hand was that of lunch time.

A herd of fuzzy white creatures with towering legs and necks grazed down in the plains below him, and if he closed his eyes he could zone in on the energies of the smaller animals that flourished behind his mountain on the shore of the lake. And then there was... Vegeta's eyes snapped up. _That_ energy was _not_ a fish.

Without a second thought he blasted up into the mountain peaks, spinning through a few of them before he landed atop one that overlooked the shimmering body of water.

Hands clenching at his sides, Vegeta ground his teeth together in frustration. _What the hell is she doing out here?_ he thought irritably as he watched the barest speck of blue and pink in the distance. Wasn't _she_ the one who had complained about being scared of the world? Hadn't she sworn to stay on the ship?

With a stab of pain in his stomach, Vegeta realized suddenly that his duties to the Earth woman had become more defined that he had originally assumed; her apparent lack of protection in the outside world tore through his guts like a serrated knife. Kicking off in a cloud of dust, the Saiyan soared towards his prey without a second thought.

Even in her light doze, Bulma could feel a mighty presence coming her direction. Like a thunderstorm roiling in the distance, Vegeta pulled the atmosphere around him in a way that set her arms tingling, and the peculiar yet singular sensation woke her from her dreams of cream pies and chocolate pudding. Blinking into the light of the near-sunset, Bulma took a deep breath in response to the resounding call in her very bones. His very being shook her in a way that she couldn't explain, but one thing she knew for sure - he was angry.

She surprised herself in her own assured knowledge that it was her personal Saiyan zooming towards her, but she didn't question the strange things that happened around Vegeta anymore. He was like a character out of a fairy tale, neither good nor bad, but always stirring up magical happenings. Despite her immediate concern for her well-being, Bulma couldn't help but smile at the man surrounded in a blue blaze who approached her on the wind.

The moment he landed in front of the woman who sat propped up on her elbows, glasses on the end of her nose, and the slightest twinkle of a grin on her face, Vegeta had to take a moment to gather his thoughts.

She was too radiant. Even her misgivings about his anger couldn't subdue the happiness that spilled from the brim of her soul at his arrival, and suddenly he couldn't remember why exactly he had been so foul. Vegeta's eyebrows floated apart momentarily at his lack of readiness.

Bulma blushed at his startled face as she slowly stood, her unbraided hair floating about her shoulders and her ruffled suit lifting slightly in the breeze. Had she crossed her arms over her lady parts she could have been a painting of the Birth of Venus, and her gleaming skin and radiant eyes as she tossed away her glasses stunned the man before her.

Had she always been so ethereal? His eyes roved over her figure, noting with pleasure the lack of clothes.

"You've been away," she spoke softly, interrupting his musing with a smile as she crossed her hands behind her back.

Vegeta scented her delicate petal-light smell in the air, ignoring her comment and lifting his chin to the breeze while his eyes narrowed. "You're out of the ship."

Bulma shrugged, her face the epitome of innocence.

Glancing around to ensure their solitude, he noted the dipping of the sun. "It is nearly nightfall. You don't know what creatures inhabit the dark on this planet."

"Yeah, well I want to be out here and experience a little bit of it," she countered, tilting her head as she noted his sudden shiftiness. "At least I know you'll be out there in the dark, too."

Vegeta snorted. "Changed your mind so quickly then? Wanting a taste of adventure?" he taunted, feeling his blood begin to boil with expectation.

Her half-frown as she put one hand on her hip betrayed her displeasure at his insinuations.

Vegeta's teeth glinted off the setting sun. "Fickle little bitch."

"Well at least I came prepared unlike _some_ filthy people," she snapped as she tried to turn and grab her bag without too much effort.

Of course, there was no way to be flippant about increased gravity around an observant Saiyan.

Vegeta cocked a brow. "Feeling a bit... heavy... are we?"

"Oh, are you using the Royal 'We' or just talking to me, Prince?" she retorted as she stood with her house capsule in one hand.

"Be careful whom you mock, bitch," he warned as a house exploded in a cloud of dust at their side. "You're already on thin -"

"Seriously?" she said, eyebrows flying up. "You think I'm the one in trouble here? You left and didn't come back for nearly _two days_ on a strange planet, Vegeta!"

He ground his teeth, eyes flashing. "Then it would be pure stupidity for you to come out here if you were under the impression that _I_ had disappeared, wouldn't it?"

Bulma rolled her eyes and walked into the house with the Saiyan two steps behind her. "I knew you were fine... for the most part. I just had cabin fever."

His stomach jolted. "Are you cured then?"

Bulma turned in surprise at his tight voice. "It's just an expression, Vegeta." Her roving eyes caught the blush that tinted his cheeks before he turned away. Her heart squeezed suddenly, too full of the joy and excitement that his little admission gave her, and she had to catch her breath. "...but thanks for caring."

"I couldn't care less," he grumbled sourly, ripping open the refrigerator. "I just don't want to catch any worthless human's disease."

Her lips curved upwards, and she chose not to bait him anymore. "How about you take a shower while I scrounge up some food?"

Vegeta tossed a handful of berries into his mouth before he graced her with a curt nod and headed off the the bathroom, and Bulma took a moment to change out of her bikini into a short, gauzy lavender dress with a modest chest but a plunging back. It felt right to her to act like it was any other early-fall evening; she'd put the kitchen on automatic and let it heat up the food itself while she set up a table outside, shaking out a white tablecloth to eat on.

Meanwhile, Vegeta dallied in the shower and took his time to get dressed. Instead of heading straight out to pester the woman, he sat on the bed to clear his mind, letting his hands drift to fasten his white button-down shirt most of the way. Slung low on his hips were a pair of worn-in gray slacks, and he left his shirt untucked when he finally decided to return to the evening air.

Bulma glanced up from setting the little table and immediately sucked in her belly at the sight of Vegeta lounging against the open door, the V of unbuttoned buttons revealing gleaming bronze skin beneath. "Hungry?" she queried as she poured two glasses of wine.

Vegeta scanned the view, feeling like something was eluding him. "What's going on here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she chirped, tossing her teal hair over her lilac straps, "We're having our first date!"

**A/N: So. Review. Obviously I've had trouble continuing this; every little comment helps!**


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